


True Love and a Twenty Dollar Bet

by dangsu



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Catholic School, Frank is scary but sad, Gerard is pretending to be catholic, High School Frank, M/M, Mikey has crackhead vibes, Pete is here for some reason, Recreational Drug Use, Teacher Gerard Way, Teacher-Student Relationship, Underage Drinking, gabe saporta is a glorious asshole, he's not really, they actually are all kind of crackheads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 26,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23539291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dangsu/pseuds/dangsu
Summary: After skipping Art 2 for twenty strait days, Frank Iero is forced to go to class with the threat of going to court. Frank expected Art 2 to suck just as bad as Art 1 had with his previous homophobic Catholic teacher. What Frank did not expect was a young barely-out-of-college teacher with good tastes in music to greet him at the classroom. Frank didn't expect befriend his teacher's borderline psychotic younger brother or be introduced to the world of true teenage rebellion. Most of all, Frank didn't expect to fall in love with his art teacher.“Holy shit”, was the first thing Frank said after catching his breath from the kiss. “Gabe Saporta owes me twenty dollars”.I updated.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Mikey Way/Pete Wentz
Comments: 25
Kudos: 84





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, it's a teacher au because those aren't over done, right? I apoligze for any similarities between any other fics, I truly didn't mean for it to happen. Also, this is my first ferrard fic, please leave me tips or suggestions for anything. Any who, I hope you enjoy :)

August 1999

Frank Iero did not do art. He just didn’t. He used to draw with crayons and pieces of scrap paper just like most kids in Elementary school, but his artistic abilities never advanced further from that. Well, at least not on paper. Frank loved messing around with his hair, he had it in mohawks, bleached tips, and even in dreads at one point. The school made him cut it off after two weeks but it was fun while it lasted and he was planning on getting dreads the second he went to college. Frank also played the guitar, very aggressively and almost like fighting, but it was still playing. Frank could be creative and artistic or whatever, but he was not, not going to draw anything. 

He could have sworn he told the lady in the office last year he wanted to shop. No, he knew he said shop. The office lady, Ms. Pierce had looked him up and down, frowned, and then wrote something in her record book that Frank assumed was her writing down “Frank Iero, Shop”. So why, why on earth did his schedule say Art 2? 

“God damn, I did not say art”, he complained to his friend Shaun. They were loitering in the hallways after they had gotten their schedules. “It was such a bitch last year”.

Shaun shrugged. “Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain”, he mocked the nuns. Frank was pretty sure that Shaun was the only cool person at this school. Everyone else was so far up the nun’s asses that they recited Hail Mary's more than they talked or they were jerk football players. There was no inbetween. Well, there were the stoner kids that Frank was friends with but they were only fun to hang around with when you were high. Shaun was fun to hang around with no matter what. “I bet Pierce just did that to you because she hates you”, Shaun said. 

It was true, a lot of the staff at Saint Mary’s High school did not like Frank Iero. Frank never did anything, it was merely his persona that bothered the very traditional teachers. Frank was very out there, he was kind of loud, and could be mouthy at times. Most of his teachers who were pushing sixty did not like him and the nuns especially did not like him. Maybe if he got a normal haircut and started praying a little harder his teachers would like him more.

“You’re probably right”, Frank sighed. 

Shaun gave Frank a sad smile. “You know I am”, he said arily. Frank could tell he was feeling bad for him. Rightfully so, Frank was stuck in Art while Shaun actually got Shop. Then again, Shaun had about two more ounces of respect for the nuns than Frank did, so that could be it. 

“Look, Iero”, Shaun started in his rough voice. Frank looked up to him. Shaun was about six feet tall and had almost shoulder length hair, any longer and the nuns would get to him. “I gotta go to class. Catch you latter”, he said while clasping Franks shoulder. Frank shuddered a little bit before sighing. He saluted Shaun. Shaun grinned and saluted him back.

“Yeah, catch you later”, he sighed again. Great, now he was stuck alone in the hallways. His only option was to walk up and down the hallways or bite the bullet and go to art class. After remembering his experience from last year, he decided he’d just skip.


	2. Chapter 2

_August 1998_

_When Frank opened the door to the art classroom, he was met with the faces of good girls and boys plus a few football assholes. He was only five minutes late to class and some kids were looking at him like he was a fushia money from Mars that was showing up to class for the first time on the last day of school. One of the football assholes, Donny looked up from the opposite corner of the class and waved._

_“Look, it’s Iero! Hi Iero!”, he greeted with mock enthusiasm._

_Some girl, a cute one at that, leaned towards Donny. Her wavy brown hair bounced as she turned her head. “Isn’t he the gay one?”, she asked Donny. She probably hadn’t meant no harm with it, she seemed honestly curious, but still the class laughed. Frank felt his face grow red. He wasn’t gay, not really. It was just a misunderstanding that the football players felt no need to understand._

_“Yeah, I heard he takes it up the ass”, another player responded. His name was Gary or something._

_Frank felt his face grow ever reder. He also felt a surge of adrenaline rush through his body. He felt ready to swing. But he knew he’d get in so much trouble, also he was only 5’6 and these football players were at least 5’10, but that didn’t matter. He’d didn’t mind getting his ass handed to him if he was able to give at least a black eye. It seemed like a fair trade to him. Still, he decided to sneer from across the classroom and wait before doing something that’d get him suspended._

_“You’re just upset you don’t have anything to take up”, Frank scowled. He didn’t even bother to say, ‘I’m not gay’, because he knew it’d be futile. It’d just make him see more gay. It’s not like there was any thing wrong with being gay, it was just that Frank wasn’t gay. That was all there was to it._

_Before Donny or Gary or another jock managed to bite back, an old man appeared from the supply closet that Frank didn’t know existed. He was old, balding, and very plump. He was also very red making him look like a tomato with a few patches of hair._

_“Stop!”, he cried. He turned to face Frank and Frank almost backed out of the classroom when he saw the fury in his eyes. “You must be Frank Iero”, he snarled._

_“Sure am”, Frank responded back, matching his snarl._

_“Sit down Frank”, the man demanded. “Sit down and don’t interrupt my class”._

_Frank took a seat in the back of the class at a relatively empty table. There was just a really scrawny nerdy looking kid and an equally nerdy looking girl. The girl didn’t pay him any attention, she just opened a notebook when the teacher started to talk. The boy on the other hand looked at Frank with a mixture of fear and disgust. Frank looked back at him and smiled._

_“Say anything and I’ll bite your dick off”, Frank said extremely bubbly. The kid looked a little scared, but stopped staring. Mission accomplished. Frank leaned back in his chair and rested his arms around his neck. He really was not liking this class._

_Frank continued with his tough-guy attitude for the rest of class. He slouched in his chair more than he thought was humanly possible and purposely day dreamed. After learning the teacher’s name, Mr.Dorchester, and playing with his tie for thirty minutes, he asked to go to the bathroom. Dorchester let him go reluctantly and shot him a dirty look. Frank made sure to smoke two cigarettes in the bathroom and didn’t even bother getting the smell of his clothes. He entered back into the class and almost slammed the door when he saw what they were doing._

_They were drawing. They were fucking drawing. This could not get any worse. Dorchester looked up from his desk when Frankr returned and called him over with his hand. Frank groaned and trudged over to the desk._

_Dorchester coughed obnoxiously when Frank made it to his desk. He even waved his hand around in the air like he was going to do anything. When he finally stopped coughing, he gave Frank the dirty look._

_“Smoking kills you boy”, he grumbled. Frank mentally rolled his eyes because this was definitely not the first time he heard this. Dorchester turned his swivel chair and began to search for something. “My wife died of lung cancer”, Frank heard him mumble and for a second he felt bad for the man. He totally understood why Dorchester was this big of a grump. Frank considered being a good kid for the rest of the semester, he really did._

_“Another thing that kills is AIDs”, Dorcesher grumped again._

_“Excuse me sir, what did you say?”, Frank asked because he didn’t quite hear him._

_“AIDs, my boy”, Dorchester continued, handing Frank a piece of white paper. “They kill you. I suppose it’s God punishing the gays for their sins.” Dorchester handed him a pencil. It was black and shiny. It looked a little expensive. “The Lord is just”._

_Frank stood there and stared at Dorchester. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips were pursed. What the hell, Dorchester? Frank was a little surprised that Dorchester would just say that so out of context. He wasn’t so surprised though that a man like Dorchester would say something like that. An art teacher at a private Cathlioc school was bound to say things like that. Frank was more surprised of it’s seemingly randomness in the conversation. Then he remebered, the kids were calling Frank gay earlier. Oh._

_“So, what you’re gonna do is sketch something, anything”, Dorchester said. He waved his hand. “Shoo now”._

_Frank rolled his eyes and trudged his way to his seat. He sat down with a loud thud and he could have sworn that the nerd kid shuddered. Frank didn’t know why, he was just joking when he said he’d bite his dick off. Whatever._

_Frank grabbed his paper and pencil and sketch furiously. He was trying to draw a scorpion. He was trying to draw, really he was. Frank had always liked scorpions. The only issue was that the scorpion on Frank’s paper looked like a cat._

_After about thirty minutes, Dorchester stood up from his desk. He walked to the center of the class and announced to much of the class’s dismay that they would be presenting their art to the class. He then asked if there would be any volunteers. The classroom went quiet as a mouse. That’s when Dorchester’s face contorted into a sickly grin._

_“Iero, why don’t you show us what you’ve been working on?”._

_Frank rolled his eyes. He crossed his arms, huffed, and bounced off his chair. He was going to present his scorpion and that was the end of the discotion. He was scared as hell and so nervous, but he wouldn’t let anybody see it. He stood up in front of the class and held his scorpion up high._

_The whole class immediately started to crack up. They laughed for a good two minutes before Dorchester hushed them, although he was laughing as well. Frank wouldn’t let them see, but he was hurt. His stomach felt like somebody slashed it right down the middle. He was so embarrassed. He was gonna get Dorchester back for this._

_Frank goofed off for the rest of the year. He fucked around in that class. He barely scraped a “B” in the class with an 81%. He hoped it wouldn’t hurt his chances of getting a scholarship at Rutgers. Whatever. Dorchester hated him and Frank hated Dorchester. Dorchester would often make homophobic comments to the class and to Frank individually and it pissed Frank off. Frank didn’t know anyone who was gay, but he was sure that being gay was not anything to be rude about. Just to piss Dorchester off, Frank made out with some girl (Jamia was it?) in his classroom before school. He got in so much trouble for it, but it was worth seeing Dorchester’s face._

_Frank decided after that year that he hated art. He hated going into class and feeling stupid. He hated being laughed at by his teachers and his peers. He never felt so alone than in that year. He only has Shaun, and Shaun was smart enough to take shop. He hated school._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank might live to eighteen

October 20th

Almost two months had passed since the school year started. Frank had failed to show up for a single art class in the semester. He instead chose to spend his time sleeping in, watching T.V. as he ate breakfast, and drove to school and an hour and a half late. It was working out just fine in his opinion. The school, however, did not agree.

Linda Iero was not a happy woman when she found out that her son had been skipping art every single day and had a nice round 0% in the class. Frank stood his distance when the school called, informing her that the ‘E’ on Frank’s progress report card was not, infact, a mistake. He heard his mother schedule a meeting with the school, October 20th . 

Frank sighed while grabbing his school tie. Today was the day. Today was his last day. He really thought he was going to make it to eighteen. Oh well, some things can not be helped. Frank looked at himself in his bedroom mirror as he slipped the tie through the knot. This would be his last time looking at himself. He’d never get a real girlfriend, he’d never graduate, he’d never have a job, he’d never have kids. Oh my God! He was too young to die!

“Hurry up Frank!”, his mother scratched. She was pissed. She had been pissed since she found out about his 3.0 GPA. Don’t get it wrong, a 3.0 was a good GPA, but not for the Iero’s roof. Three “A”s and one “E” wasn;t going to cut it for Linda Iero.

Frank banged his head against his mirror, internally crying. He grabbed his school bag from his bed and dashed across the hall to the door. He looked out through the door and saw that his mother was already in the car. Frank used to have his own car, but as of yesterday he was grounded, and that meant no car. It was a nice car. It was black and beat up. The windows didn’t wind up and it had a crack in one of it’s windows. But it was a nice car. 

Frank opened the door to the passenger seat and slid into the seat. He had slicked back his long and feathered hair. It had been a while since he had done somthing stupid with his hair and any plans to do so where permanitly squashed by his early unatural death. He’d be dead by seventeen. How tragic. 

His mother stared at the road furiously and didn’t talk the whole way there. The tension was so high in the car that Frank thought it could suffocate him. Maybe he wouldn’t die by his mother’s hands. Maybe the car drive would kill him. Whatever, he’d still be dead by seventeen.

Something Frank secretly always wanted to do was dance with a girl to “I Love Rock N Roll”. It didn’t matter where, he just really wanted to dance to that song. It would be funny yet romantic. Frank never had a girlfriend, but he was wishing he did because it would be nice to die in her arms. He sat in the car, swinging back and forth and repeating the line ‘I knew he musta been about seventeen’ in his head.

After about ten minutes, they finally reached the school building. Frank hoped out of the car as soon as he could and joined his mom’s side as they walked up through the entrance. Frank saw all his fellow peers talking and conversing around him. He wondered if it would be his last time seeing them. His mother was either going to kill him or he was going to be expelled, he decided. He never thought about the latter.  
They could totally just expel him. He’d been suspended before and a problem student. Sure, his grades were immaculate (one of the very few immaculate things about Frank), but they could suspend him for bad behavior. He’d be expelled or killed. Or both.

“Mom?”, he said, breaking the silence that they had. “I’d like my gravestone to say: ‘I knew he musta been about seventeen’.”

His mother turned to face him as she opened the grand door. Her face was twisted and confused. “Frank, what on Earth are you talking about?”, she asked, not as hostile as Frank would have expected.

“You know, when you kill me. I’d have lived to be seventeen.”

“Frank”, she snapped while beckoning him in the school. “Just get inside”, she added more calmly.

Frank took this as a good sign. She wasn’t yelling at him and embarrassing him in front of his whole school. Frank took a deep breath. This was good. He could work with this. If he played his cards right, he could maybe get one of the nicer caskets.

Frank and his mom walked across the hall and into the school’s main office. It wasn’t a large school, so naturally the offices weren’t very large. Frank had to sit on a slightly uncomfortable couch for a few minutes in the hallway while his mother signed some papers and chatted with the office workers. It was funny, the office workers seemed to love his mother but hated Frank. It was really nice being Frank Iero.

Eventually the Vice Principal, Ms.Tussi, crept out into the hallway. “You can come in now, Frank”, she said before darting back into the office. Ms.Tussi might have been the only person at school that seemed to like, or at least be civil, with Frank. She was only thirty, so Frank figures she still remembers vaguely what it’s like to be young. Frank sighed as he plopped off the couch and entered the office.

The office was a large room with dusty pink carpets and beige walls with desks littered all throughout it. Ms.Tussi led Frank through a door, which led to a small beige, slightly less pretentious room. There was a large oak desk in the center of the room, with two chairs on each side of the table. The Principle, Ms.Bove, was already sitting there on one side of the table while Frank’s mother was on the other. Ms.Tussi took a seat next to Principal Bove and Frank figured he was supposed to sit next to his mother.

“Good morning, Ms.Iero”, Ms.Tussi greeted cheerfully, her curls bouncing as she stuck her hand out. Ms.Iero shook her hand and smiled politely at her.

“So I believe we are all aware why you have been called here”, Principal Bove started in a very calm voice. These women didn’t seem mean, but boy could they be when they wanted. “I will clarify just in case we are all uncertain. Frank has twenty absences recorded for his first period Art 1 class. Thus, he also has a failing grade in Art 2.” Ms. Iero noded. “Well, we just wanted to call you in to make sure you were aware of his truancy and that if this continues he will have to report in court for truancy. This is a serious charge. We also wanted to know why Frank chose to be truant”, Principal Bove finished. She turned her head to face Frank and looked at him expectantly.

Frank squirmed in his seat. He knew he was going to have to come up with some excuse why he didn’t show for class to satisfy not only the office ladies, but his mother as well. He decided that the truth never hurts.

“I uh… had a bad experience last year with Art 1”, he sheepishly admitted. It sound really stupid. Like, beyond stupid. It sounded idiodic.

“What exactly caused your ‘bad experience’, Frank?”, Ms.Tussi asked. She genuinely seemed a little concerned, so Frank sighed and decided to be up front.

“I had a rocky relationship with the teacher. He wasn’t exactly the kiddest to me, all though to be fair, I wasn’t really the kindest to him”, Frank explained. It was the truth. He left out the part about Dorchester being extremly homophobic and rude to Frank and specificly Frank. 

Principal Bove and Ms.Tussi looked at each other with large eyes. They seemed like they were going to burst out laughing but collected themselves swiftly.

“Umm. Frank, you do know that we have a new art teacher this year?”, Ms. Tussi inquired. It was quite obvious she was holding back giggles.

Frank slouched into the char. He felt like an idiot. He didn’t know. He didn’t even check his schedule to see the name of the teacher, hell, he didn’t even know where the classroom was. Here he was, skipping class for no apparent reason. He felt really dumb when he croaked, “No?”.

“Mr.Dorchester moved to another school, Saint Joesphs. Our new art teacher, Mr.Way, actually used to attend our church when he was younger. It really is a privilege to see our community grow”, Principal Bove said, her eyes glowing with pride. Frank figures she was over the moon when a former church member took the job as an art teacher. 

“Oh”. Frank really did feel stupid. He should have noticed that he wasn’t seeing Dorchester in the hallways anymore. He felt his mother’s eyes burn into his neck. She was definitely pissed off. He’d be informed when he got home. 

Principal Bove shook her head a little before dismissing Frank. “You may go to class now, Frank”, she coed. “Room 113”, she added, reading Frank’s mind. 

Frank nodded and got out of the office real fast. He did not want to stay there any longer than he had too. Frank quickly dashed through the hallways. All he had to do now was make his grand entrance in Art 2. Shoot, maybe he would live to eighteen.


	4. Chapter 4

Frank approached the door to classroom 113. He was about to twist the door knob open and make his grand entrance when a jolt rushed through his arm. He immediately withdrew his arm and hurried out of the doorway. Frank felt his breathing labor as he leaned up against the adjacent hallway. 

A million thoughts flew through Frank’s mind. What if the new teacher was just as terrible as Dorchester? The Principal did say that he used to attend this church and Frank did not have the best relationship with people who went to Saint Mary’s Church. What if the teacher was actually nice but Frank already left a bad impression by being truant? What if the teacher liked Frank despite his attendance and reputation among the nuns but then saw his art and changed his mind? 

Frank threw his head onto the brick walls. _Calm Down!_ he told himself. _grow a pair and go to fucing class! What’s the worst thing that could happen anyways?_ Frank took a deep breath and returned to the door. He carefully twisted the knob and walked in the classroom with his eyes closed.

He heard the chorus of teenage voices and laughter. He took a few more steps into the classroom with his eyes still closed. He didn’t know why he closed his eyes, he just felt like it would be less frightening if he couldn’t see. He was actually doing fine, no fear or regret trickling down his spine. That was until the class’s natural flow of noise died down and Frank heard a nasaly voice.

“Excuse me, can I help you?”.

Frank immediately opened his eyes and looked around. It was the same art classroom as last year except the tables were arranged differently and the classroom was littered with colorful artworks. There were flashy stringy mobiles hanging from around the room and bright neon pop-art posters. There were your standard art class classic paintings, The Starry Night and the Mona Lisa, that Frank thinks were left over from Dorchester’s bland classroom decor last year. Frank thought that the classroom looked cool, it was wicked.

“Excuse me”, the same voice interrupted Frank’s thoughts. 

Frank focused his vision to the back of the classroom. A large oak desk lay in the corner and a young man with shaggy black hair sat on top of it, swinging his legs iddily. He was wearing slacks and a tacky oversized knit blazer, making him look like a little kid who was forced to wear nice clothes for mass. If it weren’t for the fact that he wasn’t in the school uniform of khakis and a white button down with a tie, Frank would have assumed that he was a student. Instead, the sitting on the desk and knit blazer made Frank assume that the man was actually the teacher. Wild.

“I… uh… Is this Art 2?”, Frank stupidly blubbered. He knew it was Art 2, he just didn’t know what else to do today.

The man on the desk smiled. “Yep”, he said, popping the ‘p’ and looking quite amused.

“Um… I think this is.... I… think I’m in this class”, Franks stuttered while looking at the teacher. His shaggy hair reminded Frank of the kids at the skate park but his pale skin told Frank that this guy did not get much sun. His eyes were a sort of honey gold, and his eyebrows were fluffy like bales of wheat. Frank immediately thought that if this guy was a girl, he’d be cute.

The man smiled even wider. He cocked his head a little and laughed. “You think?”, he asked. Frank couldn’t tell if he was being a dick or just teasing him. 

“Yeah?”, Frank squaked. God, he never felt so small before. He felt the eyes of his classmates pierce through his skin and felt the bubbling of their laughs which he knew were soon to come. Most of the kids here were the same kids as last year. Great.

“Mr.Way, that’s Iero”, Donny called out. He was sporting a bi fat grin and Frank wished for nothing more than to wipe it off with his fist.

“ _That’s_ Iero?”, the man, presumably Mr.Way asked. He raised his eyebrows high and stared at Frank. 

“Yeah, Mr.Way. He’s the one we warned you about”, Donny continued, a mischievous smirk growing on his face. He looked at Frank and waved.

“Alright”, Mr.Way chirped. He was still smiling and Frank wondered if this man was just that happy for if he was strongly sadistic. “Hey, Frank, mind seeing me in my office?”, Mr.Way asked with his eyebrows raised again. He pointed to a door across the room before hopping off his desk and making his way to the room. Frank sighed and trudged his way to the office. 

Of course, his plight to the office was met with the typical chorus of “Ooh, Frank’s in trouble” or “Good luck, Iero ''. If there was a wall in front of him, he’d definitely hit his head on it. If there was a door, he’d definitely escape through it. If there was a portal to another dimension, Frank would jump through it, no questions asked.

Frank entered the office. It was still the bland white color that Dorchester had painted it but the blank walls were now replaced by D.C. comic posters and grunge band posters. Frank soaked in the office. He was rather impressed. He would not take your standard Catholic art teacher for liking Nirvana or Smashing Pumpkins. Consider Frank impressed.

“Frank, you wanna sit?”, Mr.Way questioned from his chair.

“Uh, yeah, I mean yes”, Frank said, pulling back down the reality. 

“Sorry about all the posters. They used to be in my room till I moved. I don’t have enough space in my new apartment, so they now reside here”, Mr.Way sheepishly explained. Frank saw his pale checks tint a little pink, like he was embarrassed. “Don’t worry, I’m not like a Satanist because I listen to Nirvana”.

Frank actually laughed, feeling much more relaxed. “Oh no, I love Nirvana too! I wasn’t judging, I was admiring”, Frank reassured. He really was admiring. Maybe this class wouldn’t suck as much as he thought it was going to.

Mr.Way smiled a big goofy grin, similar to the one he had been wearing back in the classroom. “Well, that’s nice. I’ve seen the color drain from some kid’s faces. Anyway, Nirvana isn’t the reason why I called you into my office”, he added, looking at Frank questioningly. “I think we both know that you have not attended a single day of class and that you have an ‘E’ in this class as of now”.

Frank nodded, he was well aware.

Mr.Way nooded. “And I’ve heard from the students that you have quite a reputation”, he smiled a little like he was a little impressed. “But, if you are still interested in passing this class this quarter, I have a proposition”.

Frank raised his eyebrows. He thought for certain that he was going to fail this quarter. Rutgers was going to see a ‘E’ and he wouldn’t get in. Even if he could get a ‘C’, he’d be happy, elated. Frank nodded and Mr.Way’s eyes lit up.

“Great. So since this is your first period, if you could come in early by about ten or five minutes to help me set up, I wouldn’t mind giving you some extra credit”, Mr.Way offered. “And, if you can’t come early, if you just help set up when you get here would suffice as well”. 

Frank nodded eagerly. He could definitely do that. Helping Mr.Way out for extra credit, he could totally do that. Mr.Way didn’t seem like a jerk or anything, so hopefully this could all work out. Frank really hoped that it would work out. 

“I’d love to do that”, Frank beamed. “I’d also like to note that anything that any of the kids in this class said about me are most likely not true”, Frank paused for a minute, “or exaggerations”, he added more truthfully.

Mr.Way laughed at that. He had a nice laugh, Frank thought it was much nicer than his own giggle. “I’ve learnt not to judge someone until I meet them in person. Don’t worry, kid. You’re not on my bad side… yet.” Frank nodded. “Now go find somewhere to sit, I don’t really care where or what you do, you just have to follow the prompt. At the end of the class, I asked for volunteers to present their work”, Mr.Way explained as he stood up from his chair and made his way to the door.

“Good, luck, kid”.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank relizes that art class isn't going to suck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a chapter for the real ones

October 21st

Frank woke up early that morning at six am. Without music, television, or a car to go to the skate park, Frank found that he was actually getting relatively good sleep. Frank tossed and turned in bed for a while before biting the bullet and forcing himself out of bed. 

When he made it out to the kitchen, he found that his mother was already sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal and a Cosmo magazine. Frank had almost forgotten what his mother looked liked in the morning. She was always gone by the time Frank woke for school, which was normally around eight. 

“Good Morning, Frank”, she cheerfully greeted me from the table.

“Morning, Mom”, Frank said as he shuffled around the kitchen, getting a bowl of cereal for himself. He figured joining his mother for breakfast would be nice for a change. He poured the off brand corn flakes in the bowl along with some milk before sitting down next to his mother.

“You’re up early”, she noted.

Frank nodded while taking a bite of his crunchy breakfast. “I am. I actually go to be on time now that I have nothing to do”.

His mother laughed. She ruffled his hair before saying, “I should ground you more often then”.

Frank nearly choked on his cereal. He carefully swallowed before taking another bite. “No ma’am. I don’t think that would do any good”, he stuttered. 

His mother just chuckled a little. She averted her gaze back to Cosmo. “Sure, Frank. No need to spit out your cereal, I was just joking anyways”. She got up and shot Frank a worried glance before putting her bowl of cereal in the sink. Frank watched as she drew out a spunge and began washing the bowl. “I’m gonna go to work now. You behave”, she ordered, pointing a soopy accusing finger at him. Frank nodded as he took another large bite of cereal.

His mother shot Frank one last warning look before slipping off her slippers and putting on her work heels. She grabbed her purse and coat. “Behave, Frank”.

Frank rolled his eyes playfully. “Yes mom. I promise, no strippers, no drugs, no fights, and most importantly no skipping class”, Frank sarcastically amused before realizing that he had partaken in most of those activities. 

“Good bye, Frank”, his mother said while gently closing the door.

Frank finished his bowl of cereal slowly, he didn’t have anything better to do as literally everything that gave him joy had been ripped from his fingertips. He did his dish and made his way back into the bathroom, brushing his teeth and singing poorly to himself. He really wasn’t much of a singer. 

Frank headed back into his room and turned his acoustic guitar. At least he still had his guitar. He strummed through the rhythm guitar for ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, before putting the guitar down. He wasn’t exactly feeling it this early. He opted to put on his school uniform and try out different ways to tie his tie. By the time he was all done up for school, the clock read 7:30 am. Frank sighed and hit his head against the wall. Still an hour until the bus came. Frank decided to put on his back pack and try walking to school. He really had nothing better to do.

Frank arrived at Saint Mary's Chatolic Church and Highschool at 8:40 am, twenty minutes before classes started. Frank went to his locker and arranged his books for the day. He heard the voices of his peers walk up and down the hallways, airly talking about their own lives. Frank bitterly wished he had someone to talk to like that. He had Shaun, but Frank noticed the two of them slowly fizzling out. Shaun had cut his hair a few days ago and started hanging around Donny some of the other socially elite. Frank knew it wasn;t anything against Frank, Shaun had always been a little vanilla compared to Frank. Maybe Shaun was begging to accept the seemingly inevitable and becoming a functioning member of society. Whatever, he was sure to snap out of it soon. Hopefully, or Frank would have really been alone in this place.

After Frank had finished putting his last book in his locker, he felt a large hand clasp his shoulder. He turned around immediately and closed his locker. He prepared to run or fight but the adrenaline soon left when he realized it was just Trevor, the school’s biggest stoner. 

“Yo Iero”, he said, classping Frank’s hand in one of those ‘dude-bro’ handshakes.

“Hey, Trevor”.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been to the park,”Trevor noted. Frank nodded. It had been a while since he had been to the skate park. He was just busy getting stoned at home instead of getting stoned at the skatepark.

“Yeah, dude, I know”, Frank agreed, nodding his head.

“Me and Trey were gonna smoke a joint behind the church building, you wanna come”, Trevor asked, swaying his body back and forth which gave Frank the impression that he was already high. 

Frank felt his tongue twist to say ‘Yeah, of course’ when he remembered that he had to go to Art early. Damn, he really wouldn’t mind getting high. Frank forced himself to say, “Sorry, I can’t. Maybe some other time?”, he asked, hoping he didn’t sound like a total twat.

Trevor just nodded. “Alright, Catch you later, Iero ''. Trevor nodded at Frank again before walking off. Frank really wondered why the nuns hated him more than kids who were constantly high like Trevor. Maybe it was because the high kids didn’t actually do anything. Frank did things.

Frank sighed and walked down the hallways to the Art classroom. He dragged his knuckles along the brick walls and waved when he saw somebody he was acquainted with. Frank Iero, the guy with enough acquaintances to fill telephone books but hardly any friends. 

When Frank opened the door to the art classroom, he was immediately blessed with the sound of Greenday’s ‘Dookie’. The hair on Frank’s neck stood up. It had been two days since he heard music, 48 tortuous hours. Frank stepped into the classroom and nearly laughed with joy from the music. He then spotted Mr.Way in the corner of the classroom dancing with a mop.

“Hi, Mr.Way!”, Frank called out, waving to the teacher.

Mr.Way immediately dropped the mop and jumped back a few steps. Even from across the classroom, Frank could see the red undertones growing under Mr.Way’s skin. Mr.Way picked the mop back up and waved back sheepishly.

“Good, morning Frank”, he said while walking across the classroom to the stereo that was blasting the music. “Sorry about the music, I wasn’t really expecting you this early”, he apologized while turning the stereo off.

“No worries, Mr.Way. I didn’t realize I was early”, Frank admitted while glancing at the clock. _8:50_. “I thought you had told me to come ten minutes before class?”.

Mr.Way glanced at the clock as well, still huddled over the stereo. “Oh, yeah. Shoot, I guess you’re on time. I musta just lose track of time”, Mr.Way said. He walked over to his desk in the corner of the class.

“It happens to the best of us. Quite truthfully, I was actually enjoying the sweet sounds of Billie Joe Armstrong. My mom has grounded me, which includes my extensive CD collection”, Frank sighed. 

Mr.Way gave Frank an apologetic look that made Frank wonder how old Mr.Way really was. He seemed to be remembering the pains of being grounded quite vividly. “Dude, that sucks. My mom took away my Siamese Dream CD from me when I was younger. I don’t even remember what I did, I just remember the pain of not being able to listen to them”, Mr.Way remanissed with a sad half smile. He beckoned Frank over to his desk with his hand. “I think my mom also burnt my first ‘Dookie’ CD when I was in highschool. She said it was a bad influence on my younger brother. We started hiding our records after that”, Mr.Way added with a full smile.

Frank raised his eyebrows as he walked over. He was a mix between impressed that a teacher could be similar to Frank and shocked that a teacher referred to him as ‘Dude’. Frank racked his brain trying to remember when Dookie first came out. He was in middle school at the time, so it must have been around ‘94 or ‘95, making Mr.Way anywhere from eighteen to twenty three. Frank figured it would be the latter numbers as Mr.Way was a teacher. Weird. His teacher was only four or five years older than him.

When Frank reached Mr.Way’s desk, he saw a bunch of journals and sketchbooks. He also saw about thirty pens and pencils scattered throughout the desk. Mr.Way picked up one of the journals and grabbed a pencil.

“So I need your help with something”, Mr.Way started apprehensively. He sat down at his office chair and looked at Frank a little nervously. Frank nodded. “So, if I am being very honest, I’m not too aware of the school spirit around here. I don’t know how the kids will react to certain things. I think for the most part the kids are pretty receptive to me, so that’s good. But, I was thinking about starting a long term art project. I know a lot of kids just take art because they want an easy art credit, or it’s an easy class, so I want to make sure that the students will actually complete it. Do you think they’ll do it?”.

Frank really wanted to roll his eyes, not at Mr.Way, but because Frank knew that the kids would totally do a long term art project. A lot of them were nerds like that. “Oh no, they’d totally do it. The jock type kids might goof off, but everyone else would do it”.

Mr.Way smiled and Frank thought it was a nice smile. It wasn’t overly toothy and scary, but it was definitely wide. It was kind of pretty in a strange way.

“Oh, that’s great. At my old highschool, the kids wouldn’t do long term projects. I’m pretty sure the class average was like 57% or something. Also, I was wondering if you could help me pick a theme? Projects aren’t fun without a theme”, Mr.Way said, twirling a pen around in between his fingers.

“I don’t know. You should do somthing basic, some of the kids here are really stupid, not me of course, I’m practicly Einsten. But like, some kids are stupid. Maybe… How about nature? Everybody likes nature”, Frank offered with a shrug. In all honesty, he didn’t have a clue what he was saying. He was just stuttering random bullshit.

Mr.Way seemed to take it though. “Oh that’s a good idea! For the final presentation, we can do an exhibit and have different projects represent different biomes and environments. I can see it all in my head! And, yeah, nature is easy enough for anyone to do something”, Mr.Way rambled. He paused for a second, flushing red. “Sorry, I tend to ramble sometimes”, he muttered. “Anyways, can you please take these papers and place them on each desk? Thank you”.

Mr.Way handed Frank a stack of white printer paper. Frank nodded and began to place them on each individual desk. While he was busy passing the papers out, he heard the guitar to “Welcome To Paradise” grace his ears. Frank smiled down to himself. Art class really wasn’t sucking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all, please lemme know if you have any cristism on my writting or any suggestions. Have a wonderful day :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art... sucks (?)

October 22nd

The next day, Frank woke at a slightly more acceptable time. He checked his clock, which read 7:00am. Frank rolled out of bed immediately and started his day. He went into the kitchen and fixed himself some cereal, washed up, and got his school bag. His mother had already left for work, but Frank noticed when he returned to his room that she had placed all of his CD’s and cassettes in an old cardboard box next to his doorway. Frank grinned as he took the box back into his room. 

He placed the box on his bed and noticed a white note sticking up from the top of the box. Frank carefully picked the note out. He looked at the cursive handwriting and immediately recognized it as his mother’s.

_Have a good day, Frankie_

Frank smiled even more. One of the most rewarding experiences to Frank was trying to crawl back into his mother’s good side. Frank placed the note back on the box and decided he’d organize everything back after he got back from school. He finished putting his uniform on and did his tie extra neat. Frank hurried off to school, making sure he walked there extra early.

Frank got to school obnoxiously early. He decided to hang around his locker, hoping to see somebody. After about five minutes, Frank spotted Shaun. Frank immediately ran up to Shaun and attempted to tackle him. They both stumbled a little bit, laughing.

“Hey Iero, long time no see”, Shaun greeted, laughing a little, trying to pry Frank off.

“Yeah, how have you been? Those jokes aren’t giving you a hard time, are they?”, Frank asked.

Shaun gave Frank an impish grin, like he was hiding something. “They’re actually not that bad when you get to know them”, Shaun mumbled.

Frank latched off of Shaun. To Frank, jocks were the worst creatures to crawl the Earth. In his freshman year, they had taken to shoving Frank into lockers (Frank at the time had been the size of a third grader). Frank hated the jocks, especially the football players, with a burning passion.

“Anything you say, Shaun”, Frank shrugged.

“Oh, C’mon Frankie. They actually are”, Shaun said.

Frank stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He really didn’t need to lose the one friend he had, but he could hardly believe that the football players weren’t _that bad_. So instead of blowing up on Shaun and losing his one real friend, Frank decided to go to Art early.

“Alright, well I gotta go to art”, Frank said, turning through the hallway.

Shaun nooded. “Catch you later Iero”.

Frank nodded before speed walking to the Art classroom. He was starting to get pissed. Shaun thought that the football players 'weren't that bad’ simply because he’d never been at the receiving end of their assholery. 

Frank opened the door to the Art classroom and was greeted with the sound of Nirvana’s Nevermind, Lithium to be more specific. Frank smiled as he entered the classroom. He looked around for Mr.Way, but he wasn’t seen. Frank shrugged and put his bag down at his normal seat, getting his pencils out.

“You think Courtney killed Kurt?”.

Frank turned to see the owner of the voice. Mr.Way had stepped out of his office holding a mug of coffee. His shaggy black hair was in his face and he looked very ominous.

“I don’t know”, Frank answered honestly. Frank hadn’t paid much attention to the details of Cobain’s death, he was in junior high and his mother turned the television off when that segment came on. Shaun had actually been pretty into the case a while ago, but Frank hardly remembered anything that Shaun had said as they were both pretty stoned whenever Shaun would bring it up.

Mr.Way made a tsk noise before taking a sip of his coffee. “You know, people always think you have to either be a Hole fan or Nirvana fan, but I don’t understand why you can’t like both”, he aired. 

Frank’s admiration for this teacher was just growing by the minutes. Frank hardly had anyone to talk to about music and so far he’d had two conversations with Mr.Way about music. Frank thinks that if he met Mr.Way in other circumstances, they’d be friends.

“I totally feel the same way. I think I might actually like Celebrity Skin better than In Utero”, Frank agreed. He was still messing around with his backpack. 

“Really? You know, I haven’t really heard Celebrity Skin yet, the album I mean. It’s been about a year since it came out and I haven’t listened to it through and through. I guess I’m a terrible person”, Mr.Way shrugged, still gripping his coffee and hanging around in the doorway. 

“What? You haven’t listened to Celebrity skin? It’s a really good album”, Frank gawked. Mr.Way just shrugged again. “If you want I can bring it in tomorrow, my mom gave me my CD collection back”, Frank offered. He wondered for a few seconds if it was awkward, sharing music advice with your teacher. 

“Sure, that’d be great”, Mr.Way smiled. He walked to his desk and got some white paper. “You know, I thought that by getting a job at a private Catholic school I’d be able to avoid kids like you”, Mr.Way said as he handed the papers to Frank. 

Frank furrowed his eyebrows as he took the paper. “What do you mean, kids like me?”, Frank inquired.

Mr.Way chuckled a little. “The cool ones. My brother said if I taught at public school, I’d befriend all the punk kids and it’d be awkward. I’d have an army of teenage rebels”. Mr.Way pulled his black hair behind his ears. “He told me to try the private school, there wouldn’t be any punks there”.

Frank mulled this over for a few seconds. He was a little stunned. Mr.Way called him cool. Frank didn’t know why, bad it made him feel really good.

“You know, the nuns thought that too”, Frank quipped after shaking himself from his thoughts. Mr.Way quirked his head. After seeing his confused look he added, “They thought that by teaching here they could avoid the sins and gore of public schools. Then they got me”.

Mr.Way laughed. “Yeah, you look very sinful and gory. Pass out the papers, why don’t you?”, he deadpanned.

Frank made a ‘hmp’ noise while getting up. “Are you making fun of my height?”, he accused. He placed down a paper. “Cause that would be messed up”. He placed another paper.

Mr.Way didn’t say anything. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “You missed a desk over there”. Frank sighed and went back to the desk, placing a paper.

“When you're done, can you please put some of these markers on the desks, thanks”, Mr.Way said. He had retreated back to his desk and was filling out papers of some sorts. Frank nodded and continued to pass out papers.

Soon after Frank had finished passing out the papers and markers to all the desks, kids started milling into class. Mr.Way had turned off the stereo and Frank took his seat towards the corner of the class where nobody was except for a few geeky kids that Frank thought were okay. Sometimes geeky kids could be quite funny, they were better than the jocks at least.

Once the majority of the class had gotten in, Mr.Way stood up from his desk and walked to the center of the class. Frank watched as he pulled up his stool to the center of the class and sat on it. 

“So today we are going to work on projects!”, Mr.Way quipped. He got a few groans and a few eye rolls but other than that the class didn’t react. “I really don’t care what you do for your projects, the only thing is it has to be nature themed, that means no rockets, no people, no whatever can’t be found in nature. Also, your projects must fit into one of these four biomes; forrests, jungle, desert, or oceans. We’ll work on the projects for the next two to three weeks as a first quarter grade before designing an exhibit for the finals. We will have an art show at the end of the semester”, Mr.Way explained with a slight smile. “I will still give out occasional warm ups, but most of your grades will be reliant on these projects, so don’t screw around”, he warned. He looked at some of the jocks before saying, “for today I want you to sketch out some ideas on what you might want to do”. 

Mr.Way hopped off the stool and went back to his desk in the corner. Most of the class got to work, writing down ideas and some kids even started sketching out their ideas. Frank slunk into his chair and slouched. He really wasn’t a fan of sketching. He didn’t know how he was going to get through the project without looking like an idiot.

Frank aimlessly wrote down some random ideas that came to him. He started drawing random circles on his papers, trying to kill time. He really wasn’t digging this project so far. He was just about to put his head down and call it a day when Donny and Gary turned their chairs around. They had sat a few deskst in front of Frank’s seat which was on the opposite end of the classroom from Mr.Way’s desk.

“Hey, Iero, are you going to draw another cat?”, Donny asked.

“No, No, Don. It was a scorpion”, Gary pipped, hitting Donny on the arm in the way boys do after cracking a joke.

“It looked like a vagina”, Donny replied, hitting Gary back.

Frank felt his cheeks go red. He had really tried to bury that memory. Frank felt adrenaline rush through his arms. He was ready for a fight, although the logical side of him told him not yet. There wasn’t a good enough reason yet.

“Like your mom’s vagina after I got to it”, Frank retorted loudly because he couldn’t stop himself. By now, some kids sitting around them were staring. Frank crossed his arms and stared meanicingly at the boys, who laughed in return.

“Look, Iero thinks he’s all tough because he started showing up to class”, Gary teased. 

“Damn straight, I’m tough”, Frank bellowed. 

“Iero, we won’t hesitate to do your head in '', Donny warned slowly. “You better watch yourself”.

Frank scoffed. He was never scared of taking on people twice his size, even if he was going to get his ass beat, if he got at least one good punch in he’d be fine. Frank raised his hand in the air and slowly pulled his middle finger up.

“You better watch _yourself_ , Donny”, Frank replied. . Frank knew for a fact he wasn’t making blank threats. He could totally ask his skating friends to help him with a fight and they’d do it because they thought fights made them look tough. Hell, Frank had fought with them before. Just because they were boring people sober and weren’t close with Frank didn’t mean he wouldn’t throw a punch for them. They were there for him, and they’d be there for him when he needed to fight. jocks. Stoner kids stuck together for the most part.

Most of the class was looking in when Frank said, “So you should shut up or else I’ll make you regret the way you used to shove me in lockers.”

That’s when Donny and Gary stood up from their seat. Frank aggressively stood up as well, knocking his chair out the way. If he got beat up now he’d just get them back later with the whole crew. Frank made his firsts knuckled and stepped out of the ways of the desks to get to Donny and Gary when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

“Hey”, a sharp voice demanded. 

Frank jumped. He turned around to see Mr.Way holding his shoulder. Mr.Way had a grip on Frank and was sort of holding him back while staring at Donny and Gary. Frank looked at his teacher in shock. He had never heard Mr.Way talk like that, low like a growl.

“What’s going on, boys?”, Mr.Way interrogated, looking between the three boys. 

“Nothing”, Donny and Gary both mumbled, returning to their seats.

Mr.Way sighed and shook his head. He clearly did not believe the boys. “Yeah, right, uh huh”, he said, solidifying his disbelief. “Uh, Frank, can I see you in my office?”, he asked. Before Frank could answer, Mr.Way already was making his way to the office.

Donny and Gary shot Frank smirks and laughed to themselves. Frank flipped them off before turning to follow Mr.Way into the office. Frank trudged all the way there. He was going to be beyond pissed if he got in trouble for the whole altercation. Knowing his luck, Frank figured that that was what was waiting for him in the office. He was going to get a lecture and his mom called. He’d get his CD’s taken away again and never get fully ungrounded. Great.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank has a little confesional (but not the kind you're thinking off, it's too early, let me drag the story on!)

October 22nd

“So like, what was going on out there?”, Mr.Way asked. He was spinning around in his swivel chair like a six year old.

“What?”, Frank asked shocked. Mr.Way was talking to him like a peer, not a teacher with a clear hatred for the whole world and everything in it. Frank for sure thought he was going to get into so much trouble.

“What did they do? I’m curious”, Mr.Way reedirated. He stopped spinning when he saw the baffled look on Frank’s face. 

Frank looked at Mr.Way, utterly shocked. He wasn’t used to adults or people of authority asking him for his side of the story. Before Frank could stop himself, he sat down at the opposite chair from Mr.Way’s desk and told him the whole story, starting with the scorpion and Frank’s junior year. He then started talking about the actual conversation and noted how Mr.Way tried to hold back a laugh when Frank told him about the ‘Like your mom’s vagina’ part. He then let slip how nervous he was for the upcoming project, the kids always made fun of his artwork and deep down it really bothered him. Frank even told Mr.Way the real reason why he was skipping his class, he hated the feeling of feeling stupid and he hated the way Dorchester looked at him. Frank even admitted something that he didn’t even know he felt; he was secretly scared of Donny and Gary making fun of his art work again. 

After about twenty minutes of confessions, Frank finally let out a well deserved breath and sighed into the chair. Mr.Way looked at him with knowing eyes and Frank felt like Mr.Way did know. It wasn’t like when a teacher says, “I was your age once too, you know?”. It was a genuine understandment.

“Frank”, Mr.Way started after a few seconds of silence. “Would you feel more comfortable if you were to do something more hands on? Like maybe a clay sculpture?”, Mr.Way asked, his honey eyes sparkling.

Frank thought about it for a second. He really was better with his hands than he was with his fingers. Maybe this sculpture idea would work. “Yeah!”, he practicly yelped.

Mr.Way laughed. “Okay, calm down. I have some quick drying clay, you can spend a few days molding it and then a few days painting? Does that sound good?”, he asked.

Frank nodded vigorously. “Yes, thank you so much”, he thanked. Damn, Frank never thought he’d see the day when he actually _thanked_ a teacher.

Mr.Way laughed again. “Alright, well I’m still going to need you to sketch a basic idea of it before I hand over the clay. It doesn’t have to be spectacular, but you know, it has to be something”. Frank nodded again. Mr.Way smiled, “Also you totally have to bring Celebrity Skin tomorrow.”

Frank laughed and thought to himself _Okay, maybe this class isn’t so bad_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank meets the college, in shambles, unhealthy, and crazy Mikey Way

November 4th, 1999

The November coolness in the air made wanting for the bus perfect. It wasn’t mid luke warm like it was in the beginning of October and it wasn’t cold like it was going to be in December. It’s weird how one month can change so many things. The sun also graced its presence, which was greatly appreciated. Frank had given up on walking to school and waited around for the bus only a little mad. Being grounded sucked, but at least the weather didn’t. 

Frank actually arrived early to school again. Frank had been arriving at school early and been going straight to class, putting out pants and the student’s projects before class. Him and Mr.Way had even started sharing music with each other. Mr.Way brought in all the classic grunge that Frank never really payed attention to and Frank brought in Celebertiy skin and every now and then some hardcore stuff. Mostly just Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and other stuff that weren’t that popular up so North. It was actually quite nice. They’d play the music just loud enough to be heard throughout the classroom and would run to the stereo to pause it when they heard a knock on the door. It was like a game that they had been playing the last two weeks.

Frank also noticed that he hadn’t been smoking pot munch lately, only maybe twice in the last two weeks. He also had been doing his homework straight away when he got home and helped his mom cook every so often. Ever since he got grounded, he noticed he was actually putting in effort into things he didn’t normally care about. Maybe it was reduced marijuana consumtion or maybe his mother’s words were starting to rub off. 

He went to his locker and sped through his locker combination. He was actually excited to go to art class for once in his life. Who knew that Frank could change so much in two weeks? He got his books for the day and his unfinished scorpion and hurried off to the elective wing. He walked down the halls, brushing against the brick walls until he reached the art class. Frank quietly opened the door to the classroom, not wanting to interrupt Mr.Way if he was working on something. Instead of hearing the patterning of paint brushes and grunge records like he expected, Frank heard the sound of two voices arguing. Frank didn’t have it in him to close the door, so instead he left it slightly ajar and listened in.

“Are you serious, Gerard? I won’t get in trouble if I just go home”, an annoyed voice whined.

“No, if mom stops by during her lunch break she’ll get so pissed”, Mr.Way hissed.

“Oh my God, you are such a loser”, the other voice huffed. 

“Hey, this isn’t my fault! If you weren’t so stupid Mom wouldn’t have made you!”, Mr.Way snapped back, although there was clearly amusement in his voice.

“But you’re enjoying it”, the other voice complained.

Frank hears Mr.Way laugh. “Hell yeah I’m enjoying it!”, Mr.Way laughed more. The other voice just groaned. Frank decided to leave the doorway. He figured it would be really awkward to just walk in the classroom. He’d be admitting to Eve's dropping on their conversation. Instead, Frank walked a lap around the school. He greeted all the kids he knew and sneered at kids he didn’t like before the bell rang. 

Frank made his way down to the art classroom. The door was already opened and most of the kids were already in the classroom at their seats and talking. Frank made his way over to his special desk by Mr.Way’s desk . Mr.Way was already at his desk, most likely writing down the attendance, and he wasn’t the only one at his desk.

A tall (well, tall compared to Frank) and lanky boy with messy blonde hair and dark sunglasses was standing over Mr.Way and Frank could see he was wearing a sleeveless Anthrax shirt. He obviously did not attend the school as a student. His attire was a dead give away. Also if he was a student, Frank would have probably befriended him by now.

Frank sat down at his desk and took out his notebook. He looked up at the warm up written on the chalkboard and began to write down the answers. About ten minutes into class, Mr.Way started the lesson.

“Alright, class”, he greeted with a smile plastered on his face. He stood up from his desk and walked towards the center of the class and sat on his stool in front of the chalkboard. “Today we will continue our art projects for the display”. Mr.Way then pointed to the kid that was now sitting at his desk. “That is my brother Mikey! He’s going to help out with the classes today. Now I know I tend to keep the class quiet on Mondays because I’m usually tired and want silence, but today I beg you all to talk as much as you want”, Mr.Way threw a smile to his brother who had his head in his hands and arms on the table. He grabbed a handful of his hair with one hand and gave his older brother the finger with the other.

“Frank, why don’t you just get the paint brushes and we can work on your sculpture. Mikey can get everything else for today”, Mr.Way smirked. The Mikey kid groaned before sliding off the chair he was sitting on. Frank stood up and made his way to Mr.Way’s office as he normally did. 

“So, what did you do?”, Frank asked, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.. Frank might have been smirking a little, but not in an asshole way. He was more amused than anything. It was very obvious that this Mikey kid did not willing volunteer to be here as he slammed drawns open and closed looking for the paint brushes. It was kind of comical, Frank didn’t expect his seemingly happy-go-lucky art teacher to have an angsty little brother and their interactions were hilarious. Maybe if Frank had a brother, he’d tease them like that too. 

The Mikey kid turnt to face Frank from where he was hunched over digging through a drawer. Frank looked the kid over. He had messy blondish-brown hair that fell in tuffs over his eyes and looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in at least three months. The Mikey kid was also very skinny but had toned arms. He looked like a highschool kid, maybe Frank’s age. Frank shot the theory from his mind, if he was in highschool he’d be at school right now. Maybe the Mikey kid was in college or something. 

“What?”, the Mikey kid asked, a little confused.

“You know, it’s obvious you didn’t beg your brother to accompany him. I just figured you’re serving a punishment”, Frank shrugged while keeping his smile. 

“Hmm”, was all the Mikey kid said before returning to the draw. Frank heard him rumble some more art supplies before slamming the draw shut. “Shit”, he cursed. Frank saw him draw out his hand to open the draw below it before he suddenly froze and turned to Frank. 

“Hey”, the Mikey kid pipped, he pointed his finger at Frank and raised his eyebrows almost like he was accusing Frank. “Don’t you know where the paint brushes are?”, he indecrusly asked.

Frank laughed a little. Oh right, he did know where the paint brushes were. “Oops, yeah, sorry for being a dick”, he chuckled while walking towards Mr.Way’s desk. He slid open the third draw and admired the carefully arranged array of paint brushes. Frank began to pick them up and placed them into an empty cup on Mr.Way’s desk.

“Oh my God”, the Mikey kid exasperated. Frank looked over his shoulder and saw that the Mikey kid was now standing behind him, looking over his shoulder. “You are such a dick”, he said dryly although Frank swore there was some amusement hidden there somewhere.

“Really, the nuns say I’m usually a real charmer”. Frank turned to face the Mikey kid and tried to flash his biggest smile as if to say ‘See, really charming’. He actually won a small laugh out of Mikey who actually seemed to get the sarcasm. The Mikey kid gave him a ‘are-you-sure-about-that’ look before walking over to collect the papers Mr.Way asked for. 

“You seem like one. How far up my brother’s ass are you for him to trust you with touching his sacred paint brushes?”, he asked while flipping through the ring of papers, picking out only the blue and yellow ones.

Frank felt his heart skip a little. He felt a little giddy, but couldn’t place why. He didn’t know that Mr.Way was protective of his paint brushes. Maybe, just maybe, Frank was a little proud that he had won enough trust to touch the paint brushes.

“Not too far up, I can still see light occasionally”, Frank replied in his usual light hearted manner. He stopped picking up paint brushes and thought for a second. “I guess far enough to be put on paint brush duty, though”, he added thoughtfully.

“Once I accidently used his paint brush to brush on butter on our mom’s lasagna, I thought it was like one of those cooking brushes. Oh my God! He flipped his shit because the fat from the butter ruined the bristles! It was his fault for leaving it by the sink to dry!”, Mikey exclaimed with a faint smile on his lips. He actually made eye contact with Frank and was waving one of his arms around. The Mikey kid was starting to look and sound less like a corpse. 

Frank pictured Mr.Way throwing a temper tantrum over some art brush before wondering how on earth you could confuse a cooking brush with a paint brush (they were very different). A laugh escaped Frank’s mouth before he could think twice about it. He instantly regretted it. People always gave him shit for his unusually girlish laugh or ‘giggle’ as Bob had put it. God, sometimes he wished he could slug that overgrown ginger in the face… Frank tried to tame his giggle but decided against it when he saw that the Mikey kid was just smiling. Frank let his guard down a little, this kid wasn’t an asshole, hopefully. 

“Is that why you’re being punished?”, Frank asked through giggles.

The Mikey kid rolled his eyes and kicked one of the filing cabinets. “Ugh, no. My mother forced me to go to work with Gerard- Mr.Way, ugh whatever, “him”, he spat while pointing at Mr.Way through the window, “because she found a pot stash, hardly a stash at that but still. I tried telling her it was just oregano, but she didn’t believe me”, Mikey added smiling. “And then Gerar- shit, he, being a big fat mother fucking dick decided to say ‘How about Mikey come to work with me as a punishment,’, he mocked Mr.Way in an out done high pitched voice. That was when Frank realized that Mikey wasn’t actually a grumpy dickhead, he was just giving his brother a hard time.

Frank chuckled a little. He knew the scenario all too well. Frank himself got suspended in freshman year for smoking behind the school when he was supposed to me in mass. Whatever hatred the nuns had for Frank back then was amplified by a thousand percent. He swore to his mom that it was a one time thing and he’d stop toking. Two years later he got dreads, so you can see how well that went.

“Which is so unfair, because it was not even mine”, Mikey continued, his arms flailing in the air as he aggressively turnt through the rim of papers. “And plus, she can’t force me to do anything. I’m nineteen! Despite my mother saying I’m just a dumb teenager, I’m legaly an adult!”.

“Which is even worse”, Mr.Way spoke, standing in the doorway.

Frank jumped. He didn’t hear Mr.Way approach the doorway. Totally freaky. Mr.Way grinned as Frank jumped.

“You could get arrested for that, even if it isn’t yours. And you are aware they have a file on you down at the station for that shit a few years ago”, Mr.Way elaborated. He kind of raised his hands to his mouth when he cursed but put it down after looking at Frank. He probably figures that Frank wasn’t the type to snitch on his art teacher cursing. 

Frank felt a pang of worry in his stomach. Frank was a complete pothead, hands down. He was pretty sure he was high the first time he showed up to class. He really hoped it would not tarnish Mr.Way’s perception of him if he ever found out. Wait! Why did Frank care what a teacher thought about him? Frank Iero was not supposed to care about what people, much less teachers, thought about him.

“Uh huh, is that why you and Toro hotbox your apartment like… every weekend?”, Mikey quipped back.

Mr.Way’s face went pale and his eyes were wide as plates. He looked completely horrified. “Mikey! Not in front of a student! Oh my God! You’re gonna get me fired! Oh my God!”, Mr.Way panicked. He looked at Frank pleadingly, asking him with his eyes not to tell anyone.

“Stop worrying, Gerard. Frank’s cool, he wouldn’t tell anybody”, Mikey reassured Mr.Way although he sent Frank a questioning look. Mikey looked like he regretted slipping that bit of information, although Frank was relieved that Mr.Way’s anti-drug speech was solely for show. Frank noded to Mr.Way.

“My lips are sealed”. Frank flashed Mr.Way a smile. “I’m a cool student, you know?”.

Mr.Way was chuckled nervously but seemed to calm down a little, just a little. He took a deep breath in. “Well alright. I just came to stop by because I heard what sounded like someone kicking my file cabinet?”.

Mikey flushed red. “No, I think you are hearing things”.

Mr.Way put his hand on his hips. “Sure thing, Mikes. I’ll be at my desk if any of you need me”.

Mikey gave his brother the middle finger as he stood back to his desk. “My brother can be a dick sometimes”, he sighed. He took off his sunglasses and rubbed his temples. “I’m also a little hung over, so that doesn’t really help”.

Frank nodded sympathetically. “The first time I got a hangover, I was thirteen and I thought God was punishing me for being a little diviant shit”, Frank laughed while arranging the brushes. He had just started highschool and the seniors got him drunk. It was funny now, but not so much back then. He really did think it was God striking him down for sinning.

Mikey smiled a little and chuckled. “The first hangover is always a bitch. I think I was about thirteen or fourteen too. My brother was a total jerk about it. He woke me up to uh… I think it was ‘The Trooper’ playing obnoxiously loud”, Mikey recalled. He had a faint smile and his eyes lit up a little. 

Frank smiled. “Dude, that’s messed up. I don’t have any siblings, but if they did that, I’d be pissed. Hangovers suck enough already.” Frank imagined the scene in his head. A shorter scrawnier Mikey being woken by the sharp guitars of Iron Maiden and a younger Mr.Way laughing his head off.

“I didn’t know Catholic school boys got drunk”, Mikey teased, ripping off another blue page.

“Only sometimes”, Frank provided with a smirk. Frank played around with the bristles a little. He had finished getting his brushes and arranging the others. He was just stalling to talk to Mikey. 

“Also, hey!”, Frank said a few seconds later with a mock insult. “Just because I attend Saint Mary’s doesn’t mean that I’m a complete loser or somthing! Plus, I heard from the principal that you and your brother used to go to church here.”

Mikey rolled his eyes. He put down the rim of paper and started shuffling in the draws for whatever else his brother had asked for. “That was like… years ago. Our dad used to make us go, but our parents split up when I was like nine. I haven’t had to say a Hail Mary in almost a decade”, he said almost a little proudly. “Plus, I never even got confirmed, so I’m not really Catholic. Only Gerard did. It’s kind of funny. I don’t think he’s been in a Church since. Well, I guess now he’s forced to go to mass every month with the school”. 

Frank digested this new information. Mr.Way wasn’t Catholic? That was interesting. Frank figures he should have put it all together earlier. Mr.Way didn’t radiate Catholic energy. “Well I’m pretty sure the staff here have some sort of pride in hiring someone that used to be a kid church member”.

Mikey laughed. “They got the kid part right, the guy’s basically a man child. I mean look at this office! He can’t keep it professional”, Mikey gawked while pointing to Mr.Way’s Smashing Pumpkins Poster.

“Hey, we’ll I mean, if I were allowed to decorate my office, I’d definitely put a Smashing Pumpkins poster up”, Frank defended. He thought for a second. Nah, he wouldn’t put a Pumpkins poster up, they’re too whinny. “Actually no, I’d put up a Misfits poster”, Frank decided.

Mikey raised his eyebrows at Frank. God, he was really starting to see the similar mannerisms between the two. “You like the Misfits?”, Mikey asked. Frank nooded.

“I’ve got to! They’re from Jersey! It’s a right of passage!”.

“Damn, I really didn’t think a Catholic boy would like good music”, Mikey teased again. 

“Well I do”, Frank said definitely, leaning against the door frame.

“Okay, okay. Have you been to any of the local shows?”, Mikey asked.

Frank shot Mikey an impish grin. In all honesty, he hadn’t really been to any shows except for his father’s. Ms.Iero was a very strict woman. She hadn’t let Frank go to any shows or parties. _“Once you turn eighteen, Frankie”_ , she had cooed. Frank still managed to sneak off to some parties, but he never could go to shows. Plus, he didn’t have anybody to go with, except for Shaun maybe. But Shaun had even stricter parents, he wasn’t allowed out until he was in college. At least Frank’s mom would let him go out now that he was eighteen. The only issue was that Frank had no clue about the local scene.

“I uh… no”, Frank mumbled embarrassed. He didn’t know why he was so embarrassed, it wasn’t like it was his fault that he couldn’t go out.

Mikey gave him a funny look before returning to the draw. “Any particular reason why?”.

Frank shrugged even though he knew Mikey couldn’t see him. “My mom. She’s a very… kind of traditional Catholic Italian mom. She said I wasn’t allowed out until I turned eighteen. I turned eighteen a few days ago, but I haven’t been out yet.”

“Wait are you serious?”, Mikey croaked. He immediately turned around and faced Frank. “Dude”, he said as he stood up. “Are you free this weekend? You have got to see this one band, they rock. They’re playing this Saturday. You gotta come”. Mikey seemed really passionate about this band and he seemed pretty insistent that Mikey come.

“Uh, yeah! Where is it?”, Frank asked, trying to hide his excitement. He never was invited to things that sparked interest in him. It was always some friend of a friend’s party that was just a bunch of sweaty teenagers getting drunk. Frank was also eager to jump into the local scene now that he was of age. He was also eager to befriend people who weren’t dicks to him.

“Well, uh, it’s kind of difficult to explain. It’s at this warehouse, it sounds sketchy but I promise it’s not. And there’s not an exact address. If you want you can just stop by my place, we’re gonna pregame and shit. I’ll introduce you to all the fucking weirdos”, Mikey offered.

“Sure”, Frank chirped. In all honesty, he was quite happy. This was a chance to branch out and meet new people. And if these people were anything like Mikey, they were probably cool. 

“Great, here”, Mikey said while scribbling his address on a paper. He handed it to Frank while saying, “You can be the new runt.”

“Huh?”, Frank asked while taking the paper. He looked at the address and immediately recognised the neighborhood from the street name. It was one of the neighborhoods his mom warned him about. He heard there were lot’s of gang activity there, but this Mikey kid did not seem like he was in a gang, or a bad kid, so Frank pocketed the paper.

“The new runt, or what ever the fuck they say. I’m the runt now, the only teenager. If I recruit you then they’ll leave me the fuck alone”, Mikey dead panned while putting the pen away. 

“Are you all gonna haze me or something?”, Frank questioned.

“Nope, Gabe’s just gonna make fun of you”, Mikey said. “That might actually be worse than hazing”.

“Who’s Gabe?”.

“You’ll see, be there at seven”, Mikey said., smiling He collected all the supplies Mr.Way had asked for and walked out the office. 

Frank stood there in the office. Shit, he just made a friend. He also got invited to a gig. This class wasn’t really all that bad.


	9. Chapter 9

Frank helped his mother cook dinner that evening. He was trying to suck up to her in hopes she’d give him his car keys back before the weekend. It had been about two weeks since the initial grounding, so maybe the cards would play in his favor and he wouldn’t have to walk all the way to Mikey’s. 

“Pass me the salt, Frankie”, his mom said, lightly tossing the tofu.

“Sure thing”, Frank said, walking across the table. He got the salt shaker and made his way back. “Um, I was wondering if I could possibly get my car keys back this weekend?”, Frank asked while handing his mother the salt.

His mother looked at him with raised eyebrows and a questioning glance. “You gonna behave yourself from now on?”, she asked.

Frank nodded his head once. “Yes. I’ll be the perfect little boy”.

His mother rolled her eyes. “You better watch you lip, Frank. But yes, you can have your keys back”.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank head over the Mikey's and has some pre-show doubts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I'm sorry that I haven't updated this in a while. Between this work and my other work, Rough Around The Edges, I hope to alternate posting a new chapter every other day. Please expect another chapter in a few days time. Thank you! - Dangsu

Frank arrived at Mikey’s house at 7:15. He didn’t want to be the first person there, that would just be awkward. He had made sure to wear appropriate clothing, a Misfits tee shirt along with baggy jeans. He looked like a teenaged hooligan. His mother had given him a once over but ultimately decided to keep her mouth shut. He also was sure to bring something along. Frank looked his age, he couldn’t pass off as twenty one and didn’t know where to buy a fake I.D, so that meant no alcohol. Frank, knowing his manners, had made sure to bring a fair amount of pot. He didn’t know how many people were going to be there, but he hoped it was enough.

Frank looked around the neighborhood before getting out of the car. Mikey’s neighborhood isn't as terrible as Frank’s mother had described it, but it wasn’t a pretty penny either. Frank checked the paper again, making sure it was the right address. It was. He hoped out of his car and approached the purplish townhouse. Once he got to the gothic-victorian locking door, he knocked three times. Creepy.

Mikey answered shortly after, smiling. “Hey, come in”, he beckoned Frank in. The house itself looked even creepier than the exterior and it smelt . The walls were painted a greyish purple and Frank thought he spotted a collection of porcelain dolls. It was quite frightening. Frank stupidly wondered if his mother was right about this neighborhood and that Mikey was going to pull a knife on him.

“Is that the new runt?”, a loud voice from the staircase bellowed.

Mikey rolled his eyes and gave Frank an apologetic look. ‘Sorry’, he mouthed before turning to the staircase where a tall kid with curly hair appeared.

“Can’t you be nice for two Goddamn seconds, Gabe?”, Mikey snapped, closing the door behind him.

The Gabe kid shook his head. “Sorry, no can do. I’m Gabe by the way”, Gabe said, waving his hand at Frank.

“Frank”, Frank responded, nodding his head curtly.

Gabe smiled. “Mikey’s been trying to find a new runt these last months. You’re the third one now. Let’s see how long you last”, Gabe said while licking his lips like a wild wolf.

Frank shot Mikey a quizzical look. “This sounds like a cult”, Frank told Mikey. “Did you just bring me here to torture me or-”

“No”, Mikey interrupted, shaking his head. “I’ve been bringing friends around Gabe lately and he thinks I’m trying to shave off my runt-ness. He tends to scare off most of my friends because he’s a six foot four giant with no respect for personal boundaries. Don’t be alarmed by Gabe, if he tries to make a pass at you just kick him in the balls”, Mikey dead panned. Frank couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

Gae just smiled. “Alright Frank, let’s get this party started. We’re up in Mikey’s room having a party”, Gabe said before retreating back up the stairs.

Frank sighed. He really didn’t know what he had gotten himself into. Mikey must have sensed his tension because he said, “Don’t be scared, that’s just Gabe. You’ll get used to him. And I heard from my brother that you tried to take two jocks on a few weeks ago, use that energy here...Also don’t worry, I didn’t bring you here _just_ to shave off my runt-ness”, Mikey added with a smile. 

Frank smiled back. “I’m incredibly glad”, Frank sarcastically noted. If Mikey could be dry, he could be too.

Mikey chuckled a little before dragging Frank up the stairs. Frank barely had time to snoop around and look at Mikey’s house as he struggled to keep off with Mikey’s legs. They finally reached what Frank assumed was Mikey’s room door. The door itself was white although there were numerous stains and scratches on it and it looked like it was going to fall of it’s hinges. The music blasting in the background did not help with the door’s attachment to the wall. 

Mikey opened the door aggressively and walked in with Frank towing behind. Frank was immediately hit with the stench of stale cigarette smoke, the kind that’s been built up over numerous years. Frank then saw the people surrounding him. Gabe was sitting on the bed with a beer bottle in his hand, there was an older looking kid with a wild afro telling a story with his hands, and there was a ginger-ish kid standing in the corner. 

“Okay, Frank, that’s Gabe, as you’ve already met, that’s Ray with the curly hair, and that’s Bob standing in the corner. Be nice to Bob, he’s driving us too and since we’re all irresponsible drivers or whatever”, Mikey rolled his eyes while waving his hand in the air. “Everyone, this is Frank''.

Everybody turned their heads towards Frank and stared at him. Gabe was doing weird things with his eyebrows, Ray was smiling at him, and the Bob kid was just stared at Frank. Ray reached over and turned the music down. 

“Hey, I’m Frank”, Frank tried to smile. He was feeling a little nervous. Frank was usually great at meeting people for the first time but terrible at getting along with them after that, hence why he had so many acquaintances. The awkwardness usually didn’t come at first.

“You’re the Catholic school boy, aren’t you?”, Bob asked.

Frank nodded eagerly. “Yep, that’s me. I said about five Five Hail Marys in my car”.

Gabe smirked. “You’re gonna need it for hanging with us”, Gabe queried his eyebrows suggestively. “If you survive at all”.

“Is that a challenge?”, Frank asked. He felt taunted by Gabe, he didn’t like feeling taunted. ”Because I can do challenges' ', Frank added, quaking his own eyebrows.

Gabe didn’t respond to Frank. Instead, he reached over to a cooler that Frank hadn’t seen before and unlatched it. He dug around the ice for a second before throwing Frank a beer. “Drink up, Frankie boy”.

Frank caught the beer and cracked it open. “Thanks”, he said before taking a sip. Mikey seemed to have integrated towards his bed and flopped down on it obnoxiously, his legs hitting Gabe. Frank moved in from the doorway and hung around the entrance to the room. It was a little awkward, but truth be told the room was so small there wasn’t really anywhere else to go. 

“Okay so we should probably leave by like… seven fourty or eight if we want to not be stuck in the back of the corner”, Mikey drawled from his bed. His legs were resting on Gabe’s and Frank wondered how long they had known each other to be that comfortable with each other. Maybe for a long time. “We definitely have to be gone by eight thirty though, my mom gets home then”.

“Yeah, we don’t need you getting in anymore trouble, Mikeyway. Did you actually go to the school with Gerard?”, Ray asked. Mikey nodded slowly, growing red in the face. “You’re a little mama’s boy!”, Ray laughed, pointing at Mikey. Mikey frowned and chucked an empty can at Ray.

“She threatened to kick me out. I either got publicly embarrassed in front of a bunch of Catholic kids with Gerard laughing at me for eight hours or I slept on one of you guy’s couches”, Mikey reasoned. “Plus, I met Frank so it wasn’t all that bad'', Mikey added.

Frank smiled a bit. It was nice being complemented every once in a while. 

“Did he whine like a bitch?”, Ray asked Frank. Frank heard Mikey groan and mumble something under his breath. He totally knew that he was whining like a bitch.

Frank grinned a little, happy that he’d have the opportunity to use his humor. “For a little. He was a little pissy in the begining. He kept on being rude to me”, Frank smiled at Mikey who flipped him the finger.

“See! He’s being rude to me again”, Frank said while pointing to Mikey. He took another sip of his beer, finishing it off.

“Mikeyway is a grumpy bitch”, Bob agreed. “We should probably get going soon, wouldn’t want Ms.Way to beat Mikey’s ass for having us over.” 

Mikey made an odd grunt of disapproval while the rest of the boys seemed to nod their heads. Gabe, who was sitting by the cooler, opened it and pulled out a twelve pack of beer. He teared through the cardboard like a vicious animal before throwing one to each of the boys there, even Bob. “Drink up ladies, we all know that warehouse booze might be spiked with other shit , gotta get wasted at home”, Gabe instructed.

Frank remembered the weed in his pocket. “I have weed. Wanna smoke?”, Frank supplied, pulling the baggy out. The boy’s eyes lit up like glowing orbs. Frank took that as a yes and fumbled for the joint wrappers in his back pockets.

“Wait, no we shouldn’t smoke before the show, we’ll get all slow and tired”, Ray interrupted. The boys looked at him before solemnly shaking their heads in agreement. 

“It’s not like we’re seeing Jefferson Airplane or anything”, Bob gruffed. “That’s hippy shit. Anyways, let’s fucking go now. I wanna get there early to bug the band”.

The car drive to the warehouse wasn’t as bad as Frank initially though it was. He was expecting it to be awkward, being in a van full of guys he hardly knew and all. Bob was driving with Ray in the shotgun, leaving Frank, Gabe, and Mikey to cram in the back. Mikey took the middle seat, as he was the skinniest, making a barrier between Frank and Gabe. In all honesty, Frank was relieved that he didn’t have to sit next to Gabe. 

Ray had shuffled along some radio stations in the front seat before trying to make awkward small talk.  
“How’s high school, Frank? It’s been a while since I’ve been in one”, Ray asked with a genuinely interested voice. It made Frank wonder how old Ray really was. He did look older than Frank or Mikey, who could both probably pass as sixteen if they wanted to. Gabe looked a little more age-ambiguous, but he was definitely no older than twenty two and so did Bob. Ray looked like he was past his teens but not quite in his mid twenties. 

“It’s highschool”, Frank said because it was the only thing he could think off. There was no other way around it. High School was highschool and it was always going to be highschool. “I don’t think highschools will ever change entirely”.

Ray bobbed his head from the front seat and all Frank could see was a puff ball of hair. Apparently Mikey and Gabe saw it too and they started laughing. Frank looked at the two and observed the way they were sitting. Gabe’s long leg was slightly draped across Mikey’s and Mikey’s arm was around Gabe’s neck. Frank began to wonder if Mikey and Gabe were possibly a thing… No, that would be weird. Frank didn’t know anyone who was gay. They were probably just messing around.

After about twenty minutes of loud Black Sabbath cassette, Frank saw what looked to be an abandoned factory approach. He then realized that they were driving on a dirt road in the forest and he suddenly wondered if going with Mikey to this warehouse show was a good idea. He had assumed that Mikey wasn’t trying to kidnap him or try to kill him simply because he was Mr.Way’s younger teacher. But he couldn’t be too sure of that now as they pulled up in an overgrown grassy parking lot. Frank could tell it used to be a parking lot because there were faint concrete parts hidden by moss. 

As Frank walked towards the entrance of the building with Mikey and Gabe (Bob and Ray ran off to go talk to some metal heads they knew), Frank noticed that there were numerous beer cans, vodka bottles, cigarette buds, and he even saw a syringe on the grass. It was putting Frank on edge. He knew he shouldn’t get too worried, it wouldn’t look cool or anything, but he was starting to feel a little scared. Sure, at Saint Mary’s Frank was a bad boy and he cut class to smoke weed with notorious stoner kids, but Frank may have overestimated his rep. Right now he was hanging out with a bunch of college kids at, not a crackhouse, but a crack-fucking-warehouse. He didn’t know if this was the best idea, but he bit his tongue and pushed forward. He couldn’t back out now.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank goes to the show, mets Pete, and sees some real intresting shit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: FIghts, and mild drug use. 
> 
> Also... Thank y'all who are commenting. You giving me motorvation to right and I love y'all. Everybody stay safe and enjoy:)

The abandoned warehouse’s interior looked like the inside of what Frank thought a crack house looked liked. There was spray paint graffiti everywhere and busted up furniture littered the entrance. There were what seemed to be a bunch of college aged kids who had copious amounts of tattoos and piercings hanging around and smoking. There was also a strong stench of cheap beer, weed, and piss. Frank immediately scrunched his nose and made a small gag noise.

Gabe laughed and flung an arm around Frank. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to the smell”.  
Frank wrinkled his nose again, he seriously doubted that he’d get used to it. It fucking stank. 

Mikey clapped Frank on the shoulder and smiled. “This is it Frankie, this is the warehouse. We’re here a little early but people will start packing in soon. It’ll be great. You’ll love it Frank”, he beamed. He seemed really happy to be here, almost a little proud. Frank wonders if he’ll ever feel proud of something. 

Mikey chuckled a bit and then threw his arm around Frank, letting them further into the warehouse. Frank suspected that the boys had been doing a little bit of drinking before he got there. Frank followed Mikey around as Mikey introduced him to guys that Frank doubts will remember him the next day. It’s a fucking a crackhouse after all.After fifteen minutes, Mikey abruptly took his arm of Frank’s shoulder. Frank felt about twenty pounds lighter.

“Shit Frank, we gotta hide. My Ex is here”, Mikey squeaked.

Frank turned to look around. There weren’t many people here right now and all of them were dudes. He had almost done a 360 when he spotted a gothic chick with a deep-cut tank top giving Mikey a death glare.

“Okay”, Frank said as Mikey tried to whisk him away. But before they escape, a shrill voice shreked through the air. 

“Mikeyway, you son of a bitch! You fucked me over!”, the goth girl yelled, walking her way over. Shoot, Frank did not want to get involved in this.

“Shut the fuck up Alicia!”, Mikey yelled. Frank jumped back a little at the sound of Mikey yelling. “Can we not do this now?”, Mikey seethed.

The goth girl flared her nostrils and shook her head. “Whatever. You suck at kissing, by the way”. She flipped him off and walked away. Frank felt a rave of relief as she walked away. He really did not want to see that. 

Mikey sighed. “Fucking exes. Don’t date goth girls, Frankie. I don’t know if they have goth girls at Catholic school, but don’t date them”, Mikey mumbled. Frank’s heart jumped a little at the use of his nickname. Usually only the jocks ever called him Frankie, trying to denem him. He hated it when the jokes called him Farnkie but he didn’t mind it when Mikey called him Frankie. It was laced with affection, not malcie. He looked at Mikey, expecting one of his sly half grins but instead was met with a very serious face.

“Got it. Will not date any Goth girls”, Frank promised. Mikey smiled. 

“Good”, he slung his arm around Frank again.

Kids soon started milling into the warehouse. What was once a fully empty warehouse was now filled with tons of drunk or high punks. Frank felt overwhelmed and even lost Mikey and Gabe a few times before the band started to walk on a poorly constructed stage. Frank couldn’t quite make out what the band looked like and didn’t know the genre they would be playing. He didn’t know if he was supposed to mosh or just jump up and down. He didn’t know if he should be drinking or if that was what programming had been for. He was clueless. But when he heard the pounding of the drum and the thuds of the bassline, he knew it was gonna all be okay.

Before Frank even knew what he was doing, Frank statered wildly jumping up and down like the people around him. It really was crowded, Frank thinks his whole highschool could fit in here. Frank let the music consume him. He felt the bass and the drums rush through his veins and the guitar and smooth vocals brought him up. He felt a surge of adrenaline that made him feel like he was flying. It was amazing. He didn’t even notice when Gabe and Mikey had slipped away.

After a few songs, Frank turned around to tell Mikey and Gabe how awesome this was. He was shocked to find that both boys had seemed to disappear. Frank frantically scanned the room, not wanting to be trapped alone in a huge creepy abandoned warehouse in the middle of the woods all alone. He soon caught sight of Gabe’s head that stood above all the other heads. Gabe really was tall. Like really tall. Frank wadded his way through the crowd towards Gabe.

Gabe, Mikey, and Bob had taken to a dusty cobweb addled corner of the warehouse. They each had a red solo cup and Mikey had a lit cigarette in one hand. Frank made his way over and sat down next to them.

“Yo Frank, we lost you in the crowd. Are you enjoying it?”, Gabe asked, taking a large gulp from his solo cup.

Frank nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, it’s great”. He couldn’t help the smile that started to creep up on his lips. He was having a great time.

“That’s good”, Bob said, nodding in the background. Bob turned to face the stage again and grinned. “That’s Pete, he’s this Chicago kid I helped out earlier”, Bob said, smiling proudly. He was pointing to the bassist who was flailing around like a fish out of water. It was quite impressive, all the bassists that Frank knew seemed like they were sitting in Algebra when they played.

Frank nodded, taking a look at the kid. He was short, maybe Frank’s height, and tan. He also had a head of shoulder length dreads.

“He’s down here with his band, they don’t have a name yet, typical Pete”, Gabe started. “You see the redhead and the kid with the crazy mane? They’re only about fifteen. I’m pretty sure the drummer, Andy, is going to drive them back tonight . They’re crazy talented for being so young! I think Joe grows his hair out so wildly so that he can hide his age behind it. He’s my favorite fellow Jew Punk, we are very rare in the scene.”, Gabe smiled a little and his eyes twinkled. Frank could sense that Gabe felt some kind of pride towards the Joe kid. “Anyways, Andy will probably drive them all back since they have school or whatever on Monday and Andy is a big party pooper since he went straight edge.” 

“What’s straight edge?”Frank asked, a little confused. He could have sworn that he heard that term before, the beer was just making his brain fuzzy. Wasn’t that a Minor Threat song?

Gabe rolled his eyes. “It’s when you go vegan, don’t do drugs, don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t have fun”.

“You’re just jealous that you can’t have fun without drinking, Gabe”, Mikey quipped before turning to Frank. “It’s really popular in Chicago right now, but it started in D.C. There’s nothing wrong with being straight edge, Gabe’s just salty because he tried going edge like two years ago and failed horribly”.

Gabe’s eyes widened like he was hurt but was smiling his big goofy grin. “Look, I’m already a vegetarian. My mother told me that if I went full on vegan, she would drive to the University and beat me ass.”

Frank laughed. He had a similar reaction from his mother when he toler her that he wished to be vegetarian. “My mom said the same thing when I stopped eating meat in tenth grade”. Frank put his hands on his hips and raised his eyebrows up as far as he could, preparing to imitate his mother. “We’re Italian, Frankie! How am I supposed to cook without meat?.”

Gabe laughed at his impresion. “Oh yeah, dude, my mom said the same exact thing except she was like'', he took off one of his Converse and held it like a fly swatter. “Aye, Gabrielito, we are Uruguayan, how am I supposed to cook now, mi hijo?”. 

Frank, Mikey, and Bob burst out laughing. It was not everyday you saw somebody who was roughly the height of the empire's state building and had the reputation for being the scene’s biggest trouble maker impersonating their mother. Gabe joined in with their laughter and they just startes lauhging about stupid things. God, how did Frank not know about these people?

By the time their laughter had died down, the set had ended and Mikey had decided to head back to the table drink table. Frank considered going with Mikey to get a drink but he figured he didn’t need to drink much tonight. Gabe had waved Mikey off obnoxiously. Mikey shot Gabe a dirty look, maybe even a little threatening if Frank were to decipher it. Gabe just rolled his eyes before lighting up with mischief.

“We all have a theory that Pete and Mikey have a thing”, Gabe said, keeping his voice down.

Frank raised his eyebrows. Frank didn’t know Mikey was gay. He definitely thought Mikey was straight because of that one incident involving that Alicia chick. 

“A thing?”, Frank questioned. He turnt to Bob to see his reaction. He was just rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, a thing”, Gabe laughed. Gabe’s eyes were so wide and he was smiling like an idiot. He rubbed his hands together before delving into the whole story. “So, even before Pete started this new band, him and Andy where in this hardcore band called ‘Racetraitor’. They traveled down here a lot since the scene in Jersey is amazing. This was like… maybe about three years ago. Mikey and Pete got along instantly. And like… they so have a thing. Or had a thing. They would share clothes when ever Racetraitor came down and they’d giggle at stupid things and they’d dissapear for hours at the same time and then claim they weren’t together.”

Bob rolled his eyes again. “Gabe is basically obsessed with this! Everytime Pete visits Jersey, he’s always plotting to catch them. It was fun the first time… Now it’s just redundant. Our boy MikeyWay is Strait.” 

Gabe rolled his eyes. “You’re so fucking stupid, Bryar. Hey look, speak of the devil, Hey Pete!”.

The guy with the dreads walked over to the group of boys huddled in the corner. He was dripping with sweat and seemed to have just come off the stage. He looked exhausted but still mustered up a smile, “Hey”, he croaked while snatching Gabe’s solo cup. He took a sip, wrinkled his nose and handed it back to Gabe. “Who’s this?”he asked, pointing to Frank.

“This is Frank”, Bob said. “Don’t worry he’s cool”.

Pete smiled. “Yo, whatsapp”, Pete said, sticking his arm out. Frank took it and they did an odd man handshake. 

“I’m Frank”, Frank said even though Bob already said it. He just felt the need to speak.

“Pete”, Pete replied. Frank opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when Mikey came back holding a solo cup and another cigarette in his mouth. 

“Hey Pete”, Mikey mumbled happily between his smoke. He gave Pete an awkward hug with the solo cup still in his hand. Pete hugged back tightly. They exchanged goofy grins before Pete whispered something in Mikey’s ear. They both grinned and disappeared.

“See, they’re totally fucking!”, Gabe yelled. 

Bob groaned. “They aren’t! I swear to God, Gabe. Say somthing about them one more time and I’ll fucking clock you”.

Gabe rolled his eyes and gave Frank a look. It was a ‘C’mon, you saw that’, look. Frank had to admit, he did see something there. Maybe there were some small tinsie sparks flying.

Frank hung around with Gabe and Bob in the corner for a while. Since the nameless band stopped playing, people were mostly just hanging out, drinking and smoking. Frank was enjoying himself. This was what all those shitty highschool parties were trying to be like. Gabe talked his head off about his time in New York and Uruguay and Frank listened on intently. Gabe thought that the street kids in Jersey were nothing compared to the gangs in New York and Frank listened to him ramble about the shootouts and his father selling scarves without a green card. Bob talked about his time traveling around being a drum tech around the country. Even though they seemed way more interesting that Frank, Gabe and Bob still listened to Frank talk about all the high school drama.

“You’re such a young spirit, Franko. You keep my young”, Gabe aired in his impression of an elderly lady.

“Shut the fuck up”, Frank scoffed while smiling. He knew that Gabe was just reiling him up.

Gabe gasped and clenched his heart with mock hurt. “I’m hurt”, Gabe said before averting his gaze to the crowd. “Look, there’ Mikey and Pete. I wonder what they were doing. I bet they were”- Gabe stopped as he noticed Bob raise his fist threateningly. “Talking…” he trailed.

“Hey!”, Mikey chirped with a smile as he walked towards the boys. Pete was following behind with a similar smile. 

Frank smiled back before noticing something odd with Mikey’s nose. “What’s that on your nose?”, Frank asked, pointing at Mikey’s nose. He was trying to tap his nose, but Mikey was so fidgety that he gave up halfway and did an odd half point- half reach. 

Mikey swayed a little. Frank laughed a little. Mikey was wasted. Mikey gave him a weird look and opened his mouth to say something. But before Mikey could speak, Pete slid around his waist. 

“That is cocaine, Frankie”, Pete answered for Mikey before licking the powder off Mikey’s nose. Mikey grained and hit Pete’s arm. 

“Wait… are you… are you serious?”, Frank asked, eyes wide and jaw dropped. Frank didn’t know anybody who did real drugs. His friends smoked weed and drank beer sometimes, but they had never done anything harder than that. They couldn’t even do shots without getting absolutely trashed. This is when Frank realized that he had found himself some crazy ass mother fuckers. This kids were fucking crazy.

Mikey and Pete hung out for a while and Frank soon realized that Pete was a really cool dude. He was from Chicago like Bob said and he formed his nameless band about six months ago. They were pretty cool for only being around for six months. Pete was also the only one who hadn’t said anything about Frank’s age the whole night as Pete worked with fifteen year olds. It wasn’t anything new for him hanging out with highschool kids. Eventually, a tall guy with a leopard tattoo on his arm approached the group of boys and gave Pete an odd look. Pete had gotten up and followed the guy away. It looked really sketchy but Frank wasn’t one to say anything. They continued their laughter and bickering until they saw a crowd form and someone yell, “Fight”.

“Ah shit”, Mikey cursed before setting off in a dead run to the crowd of people. Frank followed after him, not running quite as fast but still fast. Mikey pushed himself through the crowd in a way that Frank thought was nearly impossible for someone who weighed all of twenty pounds. Frank tried to push through to see what was going on and managed to get to the middle of the crowd. He could just barely make out what was going on by looking over someone’s shoulder.

Pete was on top of a guy who looked to be about half a foot taller than Pete. Pete was throwing down punches fast and hard on the guy’s abdomen while the guy managed to score a punch or kick every once in a while. The crowd started cheering and yelling, chanting “Fight” as the fight drew on. Some, “Yeah, Go Pete!” where heard from the crowd as the other guy went limp under Pete. If Frank thought that last warehouse party was crazy, this one was crazier.

Mikey surfaced through the crowd and rushed towards the fighting boys. He twisted his hands in the straps of Pete’s wife beater and gave Pete a small kick on the abdomen. Frank stared at them, puzzled. What was Mikey trying to do? He squinted his eyes and stood on his tip toes, looking on. Mikey soon pulled Pete off the other guy and Pete fell to the floor. The guy Pete had been fighting remained on the floor, bloody and bruised. Mikey soon helped Pete up from the floor and Pete flung an arm around Mikey’s waist. They start running into the whooping crowd and disappear quickly.

Frank starred in horror. The kid Pete beat up lay on the ground still. His chest raised and fell, letting Frank know that he was still alive, but Holy Shit. This kid was seriously fucked up. Frank watched as someone dragged the kid off the floor and Frank recognised him as the leopard tattoo guy. Frank starred as the crowd drifted away and the guy who was knocked out started to stir to life. He starred until he felt somebody tap on his shoulder. It was Gabe.

“Hey Frank, we kind of have to go. Like now”. These kids were fucking crazy.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3 of the night that changes everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a part four coming up soon. I seriously didn't plan on making this night this long... But I couldn't reisist adding all that Petekey and the next chapter will be more Ferrard centered. Also I don't have a Beta and I'm not that great with grammer, plz feel free to point out any mistakes. Stay stafe

Frank didn’t even have time to register what Gabe had said before he felt his arm being clasped tightly and his legs moved as Gabe dragged him through the warehouse. Frank stumbled a little before regaining his feet and running to keep up with Gabe and his endless supply of legs. Frank tried avoiding collisions with people or drinks as Gabe dragged him, weaving in between party goers. Gabe on the other hand didn't seem to care. He had already knocked over two drinks in his hurry.

The cool autumn air hit Frank like a ton of bricks. He hadn’t realized how stuffy and smokey it was inside the warehouse. All the young adults inside the warehouse were now replaced with trees and cars parked sporadically in the surrounding forest. Frank didn’t really have time to take in his surroundings, though. Gabe didn’t slow down at all when they made it outside. If anything he started walking faster, still holding onto Frank’s wrist. Frank wondered what the hurry was. It didn’t even occur to him that he should be worried until he felt Gabe push him into the backseat of the car they arrived in and swore.

“Fuck man, is everyone here. We gotta get the fuck outta here”, Gabe panicked while taking shootgun. Frank squirmed into the backseat next to Mikey. He noticed that Ray was nowhere to be seen and Pete had taken his seat, sandwiching Mikey in between them. “Where the fuck is Ray?”, Gabe asked after realizing the lack of afro.

“He went home early”, Bob’s gruffy voice mumbled as he aggressively jammed his keys into the car. The second the car engine turned on Bob was already hitting reverse and speeding his way out of the grassy lot they parked the car. Frank felt his stomach flip as Bob narrowly dodged trees. “I swear to God, if we drive over a syringe we’re screwed”, Bob huffed.

Frank just looked out the window, a little confused. He really didn’t know what was going on. Maybe it was the beer he had earlier at Mikeys, although he had only drank a little and usually beer doesn’t mess Frank up like that. Frank didn’t know why Gabe had ushered Frank into the car or why they were abruptly leaving or why they were speeding away. It wasn’t until Gabe started talking again when Frank realized what was going on.

“What happened, Pete?”, Gabe carefully asked, turning his head back to face Pete. 

Pete groaned a little and sighed, like he didn’t really want to talk about it. Instead he chose to lean his head against Mikey’s shoulder and ignored Gabe. Frank sat back, watching the interaction and realizing that they were leaving because of Pete.

“C’mon, Wentz. We might have coppers trailing us and shit. You fucked him up pretty good. We might as well know why you fought him”, Gabe continued, pressing the matter even though Pete wasn’t digging it. Pete actually turned a shade of red and looked down. Frank wondered if Pete wasn’t talking because he was there and Pete hardly knew Frank. 

“It’s okay, nobody’s mad”, Mikey coed while stroking Pete’s head. It looked kind of awkward since Pete had messy dreads but Pete seemed to like it. Shoot, Gabe might actually be right about Pete and Mikey.

“It’s just... “, Pete started before stopping. He stayed quiet for awhile presumingly thinking about what to say next. “Last time we were here, the leopard tattoo guy, Trent, was giving Patrick shit since he was younger and kind of quiet and weird. Joe was smoking pot with college kids so Trent mostly left Joe alone… mostly. He was just jonesing on Trick. I got mad and I punched him. He backed off and I hadn’t heard of him until today. He was eyeing me up so when he aproched me I thought ‘Fuck it, I’m gonna tell him to fuck off’. I wasn’t going to fight him. I was having a good time, I didn’t wanna ruin my night. But then he started talking shit about the band and you know me, I can’t keep my mouth shut. I was starting to walk away but then he said, ‘Damn Mulatos, all talk no action’. And… yeah”, Pete finished. His head was still leaning on Mikey’s shoulder but his eyes were closed and he spoke very slowly. He seemed tired.

Frank winced when Pete talked about the Mulatto part. Pete seemed very… raw about it, like he had issues with it before. Like this wasn’t his first time being called that slur. Frank also felt awkward, like he just witnessed something he shouldn’t have.

“That’s messed up, dude”, Frank blurted out before he could stop himself. 

Pete opened his eyes and looked up from Mikey’s shoulder. His eyes were wide and a little watery. “You think so?”, he asked sincerely. Frank almost shuddered at the brokenness of Pete’s voice. He sounded like if Frank said the wrong thing, he’d either cry, punch Frank, or do something incredibly irrational.

“Totally. Nobody should use racial slurs like that, he had it coming”, Frank said, nodding his head. 

Pete nodded back and gave Frank a small smile. Frank felt the mood of the car immediately loosen up a little. This was going to be okay. 

***

Frank was a little surprised when the car pulled up to an unfamiliar building. It looked to be an apartment complex and it looked pretty rundown. This was definitely one of the areas his mother told him not to go to. Frank chose to ignore the itching at his brain, telling him he shouldn’t follow the boys into the complex and hoped out of the car when everyone else did.

He followed everybody up a few flights of stairs, vaguely wondering where he was going. He staggered behind a little as the older boys ran up the stairs. Frank really hated being the shortest. He overheard from someone ahead of him that they were heading to Gabe’s apartment. Frank didn’t even know that Gabe lived alone. Huh.

Gabes appartment looked and smelt fucking nasty. It was small and overflowing with papers, articles of clothing, and empty food containers. It was like somebody released a small yet effective tornado across his place. The entrances led out to a kitchen and living room and everyone but Gabe took a seat on a couch or in the two chairs around a table that the couch faced. Frank followed and decided to sit on a chair, he wanted to leave the couch for people who were closer to each other. 

Gabe followed in shortly after with a bunch of (hopefully clean) red solo cups, a bottle of vodka, and orange juice. Gabe placed the contents on his small table before accompanying Mikey and Pete on the couch (Bob had taken the other chair). The vodka hadn’t even been placed out for two seconds before Pete lunged forward, grabbing the bottle and two solo cups. He handed one to Mikey and poured some vodka in both of their cups. Frank thought that Pete was going to reach for the orange juice but much to Frank’s surprise, Pete and Mikey started drinking their cups immediately. Straight up vodka. Nasty.

“Make yourself a cup, Frankie boy. Don’t worry, we won’t judge you if you make yours mostly orange juice”, Gabe smirked while laying back. “We were all loser highschoolers once, drinking lemonade coolers”, he added.

“Thanks”, Frank said, because even though Gabe totally took a jab at him, he wasn’t going to pass up free alcohol. He poured in orange juice before adding a small splash of vodka. He really didn’t like the taste of alcohol yet.

“Atta boy”, Gabe said as Frank poured the vodka. Frank chuckled a little at Gabe’s antics but saw Mikey roll his eyes from the corner of his eye.

“Shut the fuck up, Gabe. You’re like twenty. You were in highschool two years ago”, Mikey slurred from the opposite end of the couch. Mikey leaned forward a little and Pete leaned up against Mikey’s side while throwing his legs up on Gabe’s lap. Gabe just rolled his eyes back and threw Pete’s legs off him.

“Shut up Mikey, you’re just being a moody _teenager_ ”, Gabe responded while making himself a drink. Mikey reached over from the couch and punched Gabe’s arm, causing him to spill a little of his drink. 

Bob laughed a little, making noise for the first time since entering Gabe’s apartment. “Aw, is Mikey having a tantrum. It’s okay the teen years are tough, Mikey”, Bob chuckled. He leaned over from the chair to ruffle Mikey’s hair. Mikey slapped away Bob’s hand with a lot of aggression and it actually made a pretty loud noise. “Ouch, Fuck you Mikeway. I’ll take your drink away, you’re not even legal”.

“I fucking hate you all. You’re all just jealous that girls your age like me better than you and I’m younger”, Mikey spat back, kicking at Bob’s legs. 

Frank grinned wolfishly, remembering his interaction with the goth chick earlier. “I heard that you’re a bad kisser, Mikeyway”.

Before Mikey could even answer, both Gabe and Pete replied, “No he’s not!”.

Gabe gasped. He jumped up from the couch and pointed his finger at Pete. “I knew you two had a thing!”, he gawked obnoxiously. Mikey just rolled his eyes while Pete sunk further into the couch.

“Gabe, remember the game of spin the bottle a year ago?”Mikey reminded me. Gabe’s smile faltered and he calmed himself.

“Yeah?”, Gabe asked.

“Well we kissed then”, Pete explained, “that’s all”. Pete crossed his arms and stared at Gabe. “You can sit down now”.

Gabe sighed dramatically and flung his arms in the air. He grabbed the bottle of vodka and poured some more into his red solo cup. He frowned and kicked Mikey’s shin. He was definitely pouting.

Frank was just sitting on the chair, confused as ever yet extremely amused. He was chuckling at the whole interaction when a sudden realization hit him. 

“Wait, are we just going to ignore the fact that Gabe and Mikey kissed?”, Frank asked. Bob shaked his head, Pete and Mikey giggled, and Gabe looked at Frank with his eyebrows raised.

“I’ve kissed everybody”, Gabe said while pouring orange juice in his solo cup. “Except for Bob, but like I’ve kissed everybody else.” Before Frank could process this information or responde, he saw Gabe lean forward and felt his lips on his. Just as quickly as they had come, they disappeared. “See, and now I’ve kissed you”, Gabe explained. 

Frank fought the urge to wipe his lips. He stared at Gabe utterly confused before breaking out into laughter. “How do you not have mono?”, Frank asked. 

Gabe shrugged. “Maybe I already had it so now I’m immune to it”, Gabe offered while reassuring his seat on the couch. 

“That wouldn’t be most concerning STD Gabe has had”, Pete said, shadily sipping his cup.

“Shut up Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz, the third”, Gabe spat back. Gabe drew his legs over the couch, resting them on Pete and Mikey. They seemed used to Gabe’s antics. Even Frank was warming up to Gabe’s antics and this was only his first time meeting him.

“That’s a fucking long name”, Frank commented. He hoped he wasn’t overstepping boundaries. All in all, he barely knew these people. Frank’s worries were obliterated when Pete cracked a smile.

“It’s a Jamacan thing”, Pete explained, waving his beer around. “Long names and dreads”, Pete grinned. 

Gabe abruptly popped off the couch. He walked over to his kitchen and shuffled through some drawers. Everybody just stared at Gabe, not really knowing what he was doing and a little scared to ask. Gabe slammed the draw shut after finding what he had seemingly been looking for. He came back into the room with what looked like a sharpie.

“You know what? I like you Frank. Even though you’re a midget high schooler, you’re still cool. You’ll be in college soon anyways”, Gabe rambled while downing the rest of his drink. Frank looked at Gabe with his head crooked and eyebrows furrowed. Gabe laughed at his confused look. “This is me initiating you into our poise of hot biatches”, Gabe explained, popping the sharpie cap off.

“Oh?”, Frank said. He didn’t know what Gabe was going to do but he had a pretty good idea that he had just made friends. That was good, that was great! What wasn’t great was the look Gabe had in his eyes and the smirks on Mikey and Pete’s faces. 

“I’m leaving, good bye”. Frank turned to see Bob hope off the armchair he was sitting on. He finished his beer and shot Frank an apologetic look. Gabe gawked at Bob, looking a weird mixture of shocked and offended.

“Don’t you want to stick around for the initiation ceremony?”, Gabe asked.

“Fuck no”, Bob responded, making his way to the door. “I saw what happened at Pete’s ‘initiation’ or whatever. I do _not_ want to see that ever again. Never. I’m gonna take the bus home and thank God that I don’t have to witness that again”, Bob finished. He opened Gabe’s door and made his way into the apartment hallways.

Frank was starting to get a little scared, but the good kind of scared. Like when you are about to ride a roller coaster that is super tall and scary but you know that once you get over the initial fear it’ll be wicked. However, Frank was a little apprehensive about the ‘initiation’ process if Bob did not want to see it.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already kissed you, that’s the worst part”, Gabe reassured, reading Frank’s mind. “Bob’s just throwing a fit because when we initiated Pete, he decided to use tongue”, Gabe added while shooting Pete a look. Pete just shrugged as if to say ‘it can’t be helped’. 

“No, you guys were also dry humping each other”, Mikey clarified while lighting a cigarette up.

“You totally enjoyed it, Mikeyway”, Gabe retired with what Frank was realizing as his signature grin. Gabe turned back to Frank. “Anyways, the last step of the ignition is that you let me draw something on your arm”, Gabe said very seriously before yanking Frank’s arm.

Frank didn’t protest. Normally he wouldn’t let just anybody draw on his arm, but the beer was making him fuzzy. Gabe had positioned himself over Frank’s arm in a way that Frank couldn’t see what was going on. Eventually, Gabe removed himself from Frank’s arm and Frank saw a large detailed penis complete with hair on his forearm.

Instead of being pissed like he normally would be, Frank just laughed. “Dude, of all the things you could choose, you chose a dick? What is this, elementary school?”Frank criticted. 

Gabe rolled his eyes. “No man, it’s symbolic! The dick represents us, we’re all a bunch of dicks!”, Gabe explained. Mikey seemed very annoyed with Gabe while Pete sat on the couch looking quite amused.

Frank nodded his head. “Anything you say, babe”.

“See that’s the spirit!”, Gabe quipped. He grabbed the dwindling bottle of vodka on the table and raised it high. “We shall celebrate Frank’s initiation with shots!”.

***  
After a round of shots, Frank decided he was done drinking for the night. He wasn’t trying to get a hangover and he still needed to figure out he was going to get home. The boys on the other hand had kept on drinking well into the night. Gabe and Pete seemed to be doing okay at pacing themselves, but Mikey was drunk, no way around it. He also might of been high depending on if the white powder was actually coke. Then again, Frank didn’t know how long coke highs actually lasted as he had never done coke, so that could have worn off already.

By the time the clock rolled around one am, Frank decided he should probably go. He could stumble to the closest bus stop and figure out his way home from there. He got up from the chair and placed his solo cup on the wood table. The boys stared at him before he said, “Uh… thanks for having me over, I think I’m gonna head out now”, he mumbled. It sounded stupid. It sounded like he was planning on walking home.

“How are you getting back?”, Pete asked.

“I think I’m gonna walk around, catch a bus maybe”, Frank said, jumping around his words. He felt a little dizzy, he hoped he hadn’t drank too much. 

“Well,” Gabe started while twirling his solo cup. “If you don’t want to walk you could always take Mikey’s car and drop him off?”, Gabe finished like it was a question. He said it like he was asking for a favor, which properly was the truth. Mikey looked drunk as a skin leaning on Pete. 

“Uh yeah, sure”, Frank said.

Gabe smiled in relief. “Thanks, I was really thinking that I’d have to have both Pete and Mikey over tonight. That would fucking suck”, Gabe said and Frank smiled even though he doesn’t know why Gabe wants Mikey out so badly. Maybe Mikey is a terrible person hung over.

“Here”, Pete said while shamelessly digging into Mikey’s jeans pocket. 

“Stop touching my ass”, Mikey half whinned half slurred. Pete just squeezed Mikey’s butt before pulling out his car keys. He threw it at Frank before standing up himself. He picked Mikey up by his arm and helped him up. “Here, I’ll help him into the car”, Pete offered. Frank nodded even though he doubted that Pete would really be any help. Pete was kind of stumbling a bit too. They were all drunk except Frank.

Pete actually managed to get Mikey out the door and Frank heard them stumble down the stairs. Frank stayed back to help Gabe clean up. Gabe downed the rest of the vodka straight from the bottle and made Frank put all the solo cups in the sink. There were some nasty old dishes in there but other than that the sink seemed pretty clean. Frank thanked Gabe for having him over and made his way to the doorway when Gabe stopped him.

“Psst Psst Frank”, Gabe whispered even though there was nobody in sight.

“Whats sup, Gabe?”, Frank asked, fully aware that Gabe was now fully trashed.

“I’ll make you a deal, Franko”, Gabe continued whispering. Franko. That was a new one. “Who gets Mikey to admit that him and Pete are a thing get’s twenty bucks”, Gabe finished, grinning like an absolute buffoon.

Frank laughed a little. He really thought Gabe was gonna say something useful. “Sure, Gabe”, Frank said while stepping outside into the hallway. “Twenty bucks”.

“It’s a bet”, Gabe nodded his head stupidly. “It’s a mother fucking bet”.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final Big Dog Chapter. The finally to Frank's wild night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating in a while. I've been stampeded with work in the quarentine. I'm also writting alot for my other fic, started a new one that will hopefully debute latter, and am writting a fantsy satire book on the side. I'll try to update when I can tho. Stay safe, y'all!

Pete did a pretty okay job of hauling Mikey back into his car. He was sitting on the passenger side when Frank got there, slouched a little and was smoking another cigarette. He was definitely drunk off his ass but he wasn’t at the stage where he’d barf or piss in the car… hopefully. Pete was still lingering around the parking lot when Frank got in the car. He rolled down the window and smiled at Pete.

“Was nice meeting you”, Frank said, hoping he didn’t sound too cheesy or too young. To his relief, Pete just smiled back and waved.

“You too, dude. Don’t let the man get you”, Pete hollored before walking back into the apartment complex. He must have been staying with Gabe. Frank nodded and saluted Pete even though he had already gone inside. Frank hoped that Pete wouldn’t trip over the flights of stairs as he seemed pretty drunk too. Not Mikey-level drunk, but he was definitely drunk. 

Frank chuckled a little as he pulled out of the parking lot. Usually Frank was the one stumbling over while somebody took care of him, not the other way around. Right now Frank was just a little buzzed. He could totally drive back to Mikey’s and then drive himself home in his own car. He turned the radio on and drove the car onto the main road.

“Yo, Mikeyway”, Frank started. Mikey looked up and wobbled his head a bit. “Can I have a drag?”, Frank asked, already sticking his hand out for the smoke. Mikey handed it to him happily.

“You need… like directions home or something?”, Mikey slurred a bit but just a little. Mikey seemed to lose more coordination than his vocal ability. Interesting. Frank on the other hand was the opposite. He couldn’t talk for shit when he was drunk but he could move pretty alright. Not like Frank got drunk a lot. Frank had only gotten drunk twice in his life. One time was at Shaun’s place when his parents were out and the other time was at a shitty highschool party that had actual vodka. Crazy. Frank was a bigger fan of getting high or buzzed. Being drunk wigged him out a bit. He liked feeling like he had some control.

“Yeah… directions would be nice”, Frank agreed realizing he didn’t really know where he was going. “I don’t know how to get back to your place”.

Mikey shifted in his seat and lit another cigarette up. “Would you mind dropping me off at my brother’s place? I… my mom would kill me if she catches me drunk… again”, Mikey half slurred again. 

Frank furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t really want to drive all around town, dropping people off. But he nods and agrees anyways because he figures he owes it to Mikey for letting him tag along to the warehouse and providing Frank with free booze. Frank would just drop Mikey off at his brothers, go to Mikey’s house to get his car, and then go the fuck home. It’d all work out. 

The directions that Mikey gave him led him to another apartment complex that Frank used to pass by on his way to his dad’s. He totally knew where he was, his house was only ten minutes away. Maybe this would work out okay. He parked the car in the appartment’s parking lot. 

“So like… thanks for everything dude”, Frank started. “I’m gonna have to like… take your car back to your place though so I can get my own car. You think you can find a ride home tomorrow?”, Frank asked. He really hoped Mikey would throw a bitch fit and demand that his car stay parked in this lot. Frank would really be screwed then.

To Frank’s relief, Mikey just smiled. “Yeah, I always figure shit out, you know”, Mikey responded while waving his hands in the air. “I probably won’t even wake up tomorrow, you know? The hangover’s gonna be a bitch. I can already feel the coke comedown and I’m drunk”, Mikey loosely said as he opened the car door. Frank just nodded because he really didn’t know what to say to that. Mikey closed the door and waved.

Frank was just about to put the car into reverse and go pick up his car when he saw from the rearview mirror Mikey stumbling around the parking lot. He looked like he was about to fall straight on his ass. Frank had forgotten just how drunk Mikey was because of how well Mikey was speaking. Frank sighed. It would be shitty of him to just get up and leave now. He sighed once more before turning the engine off and opening the car door.

“Hey Mikey!”, Frank shouted. He began running up towards the stumbling teen. Mikey just looked at him and nodded like it was nothing. Frank rolled his eyes as he caught up with Mikey. He slipped his arm under Mikey’s arm and wrapped his arm around Mikey’s back, holding and guiding him.

“Okay, let’s get you home”, Frank said, trying to keep Mikey from stumbling over like a ton of bricks. Mikey nodded again and Frank kept on walking him up to what he assumed was the entrance to the apartment complex. The apartments looked a whole lot less shady than Gabe’s and it was a lot nicer than Mikey’s neighborhood. Mikey wobbled along with Frank and occasionally mumbled directions or thanks. They made it into the right entrance and Mikey mumbled something about going left, which Frank did.

Luckily, Mikey’s brother lived close to the entrance and on the first floor. Frank was kind of short… even if he hated to admit it. Mikey was kind of a giant compared to Frank, even though compared to anyone else he was probably just average. Frank probably couldn’t handle it if Mikey’s brother had lived on the second or fourth floor. That would be too much. Frank was scrawny, short, and a little buzzed (although he was sobering by the minute) he could not handle second floors right now. 

Frank knocked on the door for Mikey. Mikey had seemed to get less and less mobile as they had walked further. Maybe he was falling asleep on Frank’s shoulder. Frank considered slapping Mikey to get him to sober up, but before he could the door in front of him opened.

“Mikey..? Frank?”, Mr.Way asked. Frank had never felt more awkward in his life. He also didn’t realize that when Mikey said brother he had ment Mr.Way. He had assumed it was a different brother. Shit.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry about knocking on your door at this time and whatever but your brother is very drunk right now”, Frank quickly replied. He was still kind of holding Mikey, who was rolling his eyes and mumbling something about not being that drunk. Mr.Way nodded and seemed to understand. He stepped out the doorway and put his arm around Mikey’s other side. 

“Can you help me get him to the guest room?”, Mr.Way asked as they made their way into his apartment. Frank immediately noticed how messy and small the apartment was. There were beer bottles and clothing articles littered everywhere. 

“Yeah”, Frank answered. They were already sort of dragging Mikey further into the apartment so Frank didn’t see an issue with going a bit further. They went down a narrow hallway and Gerard instructed Frank to just throw Mikey onto the bed, which they did. 

“Shit, do you know if he took anything?”, Mr.Way asked while looking down at his currently passed out brother. 

“I think he said something about coke?”, Frank answered. Mr.Way nodded and sighed while leaving the room. Frank exited as well and made his way to the door. He really did not want to stay here any longer than he had too. It was really awkward. He was almost out the door when Mr.Way spoke up.

“God, Frank.... I’m sorry about all this. I wish I could say he’s not like this all the time but… he is”, Mr.Way apologized with a sad smile. His eyebrows had furrowed and he seemed extremely sincere, maybe even a little hurt. “Thank you for dragging him here. God! I’m gonna kick his ass tomorrow”.

A small smile slid across Frank’s face. He put his arm up, “No, it’s okay. I didn’t mind dragging him around, he’s very… entertaining”. Frank shifted awkwardly in the doorway. He really wanted to leave. He did not realize that when Mikey said brother, he ment Mr.Way. It had totally slipped his mind that Mr.Way and Mikey were brothers. This was awkward. 

Mr.Way rolled his eyes when Frank mentioned Mikey being entertaining. “I’m sure he’s _very_ entertaining”, he scowled a bit. “He just scares me sometimes, you know? He can be really stupid sometimes”, Mr.Way sighed. 

“I get it, Mr.Way”, Frank said, just to say something. He didn’t really know how to respond to what Mr.Way had said. 

Mr.Way immediately burst out into a laugh. It caught Frank off guard. His laugh was strangely loud and overbearing. It was the loud that vibrated and took over a room. It made you want to laugh too.  
“Please do not call me Mr.Way outside of school. I’m only twenty two! God, if the school wasn’t so strict, I’d have the kids call me by my first name. I’m too young to be a Mister”, Mr.Way said with a look of disgust. “Call me Gerard”.

“Hello Gerard”, Frank awkwardly said, addressing Gerard by his first name. It felt weird. It felt _wrong_. But, at the same time it felt refreshing, like this was who Mr.Way, Gerard, truly was. Was this how Adam and Even felt when they ate the forbidden fruit? 

They both looked at each other for a few minutes, staring into each other's hazel chocolate eyes. Frank did know what it was, but he felt a strange leep in his stomach, like a twist or a jump erupt. He didn’t know what it was. He felt something tickle his throat. He felt his throat tighten and clench. Before he knew it, Frank was cracking up. 

Gerard had started laughing as well. It was so stupid. They were literally laughing at Mr.Way’s name. Wait no… Gerard’s name. It just sounded so weird coming out from Frank’s mouth. Frank felt his stomach ache from the slightly hysterical laughing from the early hours of the morning. It was too late… early for this. Frank fell down the ground, unstable with all the laughter erupting from his stomach. Gerard soon followed, plopping down right next to Frank. They sat there, laughing for a while. It almost felt like Gerard was a friend to Frank Almost.

It was Gerard who eventually pulled himself off the ground. He stood up slowly and wobbly while still smiling. He stuck his hand out to Frank, who took it gratefully. Frank was still chuckling a bit when he stood up.

“You want… like a cup of coffee or something?”, Gerard asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Frank knew he shouldn’t accept. He should drive Mikey’s car back to get his own before booking his way back home and attempt to get some kind of sleep. But looking at Gerard in his blue fuzzy pajamas and his wife laughing eyes made him really want to stay. He wanted to accept the cup of coffee and get to know Gerard. Not his art school teacher, Mr.Way, but the young man who is clearly something more outside of school. Frank never really thought about teachers outside of school in their own homes, unless he was fantasizing about egging their home, so it really did baffle him to see Mr.Way acting so normally.

“Uh… yeah… sure”, Frank sputtered, dusting off the jeans he was wearing.

“Alright”, Gerard smiled. He made his way into what Frank assumed was the kitchen. Frank kind of stood in the foyer awkwardly until Gerard said, “You can like… come in the kitchen”. Frank blushed. Of course he could go into the kitchen. Why couldn’t he? He awkwardly made his way into the kitchen.

Gerard was fiddling with what Frank assumed was a coffee machine. “So Frank, what were you doing with Mikey anyways. I didn’t know that you knew him”, he asked while still pushing random buttons and cursing under his breath. If Frank didn’t know any better he’d think that Gerard had no clue how to use the machine. 

“Uh… I didn’t. I met Mikey the day he came into your class. We had gotten to talking and he invited me out”, Frank nervously explained. He was slowly regretting accepting the coffee. It was really awkward. 

“Oh, I’m sorry”, Gerard genuinely apologizes. He stepped back from the machine and steam flew out of it. Frank assumed he got it to work. “Mikey’s a little shit head. I don’t know why but he is always hanging out at dinky basement bars and crack houses. Please tell me he did _not_ take you to a crack house?”, Gerard pleased with his eyebrows quirked real nervously.

“Nah, he didn’t take me to a crack house”, Frank assured. Gerard immediately relaxed a bit. “He took me to a crack warehouse”, Frank added thoughtfully. Gerard winced and kicked a wall.

“Goddamn it. I really am sorry about him”, Gerard apologized again. “Oh look, the coffee's ready. How do you take it? Cream? Sugar?”.

“Cream and Sugar please”, Frank answered, feeling like a little kid. Gerard probably drank his coffee blank, like real adults do. Frank was still like a baby compared to Gerard. Probably.

“Really? That’s how I make mine. Mikey and my mom drink theirs black. They always got on me for it. Little assholes”. Gerard smiled while pouring out the creams and sugars. He handed a cup to Frank and went into another room, motioning for Frank to join him.

“That’s terrible”, Frank sympathesized. The room was what appeared to be a horrible attempt at a living room. There was a taped up sofa and a Television that looked to be at least fifteen years old. Gerard plopped down on the couch and Frank followed. He was assuming he was supposed to follow Gerard. Gerard grabbed the bulky T.V. remote and flipped through the channels before settling on Tom and Jerry.

Frank stayed on Gerard’s couch for a while, just watching cartoons aimlessly. Every now and then he would make a comment and Gerard would respond, but a conversation never really fizzled. It was okay, though. Frank felt comfortable sitting on Gerard’s couch just watching cartoons.

“Are you team Tom or Jerry?”, Gerard randomly asked. Frank noticed that he had finished his coffee a long time ago but still hadn’t kicked Frank out.

“Team Tom. He’s dumb, but he’s still trying to get by. I sympathize with him’, Frank answered honestly. “Jerry’s a little shit”. 

Gerard chuckled. “I’m team Jerry. Sure, he’s a little shit, but he’s a smart shit. Gotta give props to him”.

“Yeah, whatever,'' Frank pouted. He crossed his arms and sunk deep into the 

“Aww, are you offended? You mad that I chose a rat over than a idiotic cat? Stop, sulking, Frankie”, Gerard teased. Frank straightened up.

“I’m not sulking”.

“You totally are”.

“Am not”.

“Totally sulking”.

“No”.

“Fine”.

They continued to watch Tom and Jerry until the network stopped airing the episodes and it went to Scooby Doo reruns. Frank shifted around on the couch before standing up, figuring he should probably make his way home.

“Thanks for the coffee and cartoons”, Frank started, standing up. “I think I should head back, though”, Frank said, a bit regretfully. Gerard stood up too.

“Yeah, sorry for keeping you here for so long. Uh… I noticed you drove Mikey’s car… You need a ride back?”, he asked.

Frank mulled it over. It would be convenient. “Uh yeah, actually. That’d be nice. I left my car at your mother’s house when I drove over. Thanks”

Gerard laughed a little. “Yeah, no problem. Consider it a thanks for bringing back my wasted brother all in one piece”. Frank nodded as Gerard led him out into the apartment hallway. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell the principal about your after school activities”, Gerard added with a snark laugh when they had made it out to Gerard’s car. Frank went red in the face. He was really trying hard to forget the fact that Gerard was his school teacher. Fuck.

“Thanks”, Frank answered awkwardly. Gerard just laughed at him.

“Stop being so awkward! You weren't awkward just two minutes ago. I am a totally different person than Teacher Gerard. You know what, just get in my car”, he laughed. Frank nodded and as he slid into the front seat he was met with the sharp smell of stale cigarette smoke. This was gonna be okay.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow i updated after like half a year. 
> 
> sorry for taking so long, I just got caught up with shit and lost the urge to write this story. 2020 has honestly flashed before my eyes. Y'all ever think about how we're living in a whole new decade???? I was too young to realize the significance of 2009 turning to 2010, it didn't register to me that it was a new decade. All I remember is going to my aunt's house and eating dumpling and ricecake soup. But now I'm old enough for it to register. It's 2020!!! Almost 2021!!!! Like in fifteen years ppl are gonna be like "omg that's so 2020's". Shit, in fifteen years I might have kids. I could have kids right now... that's so weird. I'm old enough to have kids and to get married (where I'm from at least). Lorde was right, 'it feels so scary getting old'. I just feel like my life is moving on without me because of the pandemic. My youth is being wasted... but at the same time I'm extremely thankful for what I do have and that nobody in my life has been extremely affected by covid. I'm still sad tho. A lot of my friends are not social distancing and it makes me upset. I don't know why I'm using the chapter notes of this fic as my diary or something. I hope y'all enjoy the story.

Sunday hit Frank the hardest. He wasn’t too hung over or anything, but he didn’t feel as fresh as he would have liked too in the morning. He woke up late and missed church (much to his mother’s dismay) and he had to make sure to drink numerous glasses of water before eating so that his stomach wouldn’t twist up like it always did when Frank drank. Frank decided to avoid his mother by eating on the front porch and cleaning his room. His Sunday was actually quite productive.

The only thing he worried about was things becoming awkward the next day when he had to return to school. How would he interact with Mr.Way-- Gerard after their interaction? It shouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did, but it did. Frank took three tablespoons of benadryl to make him drowsy enough to sleep. 

The next day Frank was up early and awake, ready to tackle the day. Okay, that may have been an exaggeration. Frank was extremely nervous to go to Art class. He dreaded having to go to class and pretend that Gerard was Mr.Way and he wondered if Gerard would treat him any differently. 

It was a B day, so Frank had Art third period. Frank’s first classes were okay. He took notes in Trig like most kids do, except this time he made them all fancy and drew flowers on the corner of his notebook to ease some nerves. In English, he didn’t participate much in the class discussion and put his head down during part of the class, much to his teacher’s dismay. She tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he was sick. Frank shook his head and promptly put it back down. He didn’t know what was making him so nervous, it was just a teacher. He had to keep on telling himself that.

When he got to the art classroom, he entered unassumingly and headed straight to the art closet to hand out the art supplies. One paintbrush per table, one set of paints per table, and one cup of water per table. That’s all Frank told himself as he got together the supplies. The classroom was filled by the time Frank got the brushes to each table and by the time he got the water out, Gerard was starting his lesson.

“So I know most of you are in the final stages of your project, finishing up on paint and all that fun stuff. Now, last night my roommate, Ray, and I were debating if we should cook or order out. Ray can cook pretty well, but he was pretty tired. I can’t cook that well-- well actually I think I cook pretty okay, it’s just other people who think I can’t cook. Anyways, we decided to order out from this Chinese place. I call the place up to order our chicken and lo mein when the lady says they’re all out of green onions.”

Gerard smiled at the class, who only seemed mildly interested in his story. Frank wondered why the hell Gerard was talking about what he ate for dinner last night as he scrambled to hand out the sets of paint to the tables. 

“I’m talking to her like ‘Yeah, that’s fine, I don’t care’. So the food comes and I open the box and see my food. It smells great but I noticed how dull it looks. The chicken and lo mein are just brownish piles of mush without the silky green onions to add a pop of color and to provide a different texture. So I’ve decided that today in class, you all will be allowed to add whatever you’d like to your paintings, mobiles, and sculptures. Before class, I purchased tubs of glitter and beads for you to spice up your works of art. Frank will pass them out fifteen minutes before class ends”.

Some of the students murmured with approval as Gerard took to his desk. Frank sighed as he finished handing out the last set of paint. He would have to retreat to his desk which just had to be placed next to Gerard’s. 

“Good morning, Frank”, Gerard pipped as Frank took his seat. Frank mustered a smile and glanced at Gerard.

“Good morning, Mr.Way”.

“So in about forty minutes, would you mind going into my office- not the supply closet- but the office to get the glitter and beads. They should be in a plastic bag on my desk.”

“Of course”, Frank said not only to be polite but because he had to for his grade.

“Also you may have noticed that your sculpture is not on your desk today. That’s because I moved it to the Courtyard to get better sunlight. I moved it back inside this morning. It’s actually right here”, Gerard said while taking out Frank’s scorpion sculpture from one of the drawls. 

“Thanks, G-Mr.Way”, Frank murmured, forcing himself to call Gerard by his proper name. “You didn’t have to do that”.

Gerard smiled. He shrugged and placed the sculpture on Frank’s desk. “I just figured it should dry as much as it can before you add any glitter or beads- speaking of which, are you gonna add any?”.

It was Frank’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know.”

“I think your scorpion would look really cool with black glitter”, Gerard suggested.

Frank tilted his head and took a good look at his scorpion sculpture, now painted black. Maybe Gerard was onto something. It _would_ look cool with black glitter.

“I think you’re right, Mr.Way”, Frank hummed. He patted the top of his scorpion. “It would be nice with black glitter”.

Gerard chuckled. “Trust me, it will. I went to art school for four years and all it taught me was that everything looks better with glitter.”

Frank nodded, still eyeing up his scorpion. “I’ll have to trust you with this one than”.

“Yep. Gotta trust your elders, Frankie”, Gerard joked.

Even though it was a joke, Frank couldn’t help but flush. He felt his face get hot and his stomach twist-- like he was embarrassed or something. Frank didn’t know why he was so embarrassed or why he was getting all worked up by Gerard’s comment, but he couldn’t fight the urge to say; “You’re not _that_ much older than me, ya know?”.

Gerard gave Frank an amused look. “I was a senior in high school when you were in the seventh grade, but I’ll take the compliment. It takes a lot of work to look this young”.

Frank shrugged. He didn’t know why, but he blurted, “I’m like eighteen. Which is weird cause I’m like an adult but I’m still in highschool if that makes any sense”. God, Frank immediately regretted saying that. It felt like he was proving his age, which just made him seem more childish. God. Why did he even want to seem mature to Gerard?

Gerard just smiled, not noticing the inner battle Frank was having. “I suppose that would be weird. Like you're technically an adult but you’re bound to the burdens of highschool. But in my opinion, eighteen year olds aren’t real adults.”

“When does one become a real adult then?”, Frank asked.

Gerard popped out his bottom lip and furrowed his eyebrows. “You know, I don’t know. I’m twenty two and I feel pretty adult-ish but at the same time I feel like I’m simultaneously sixteen. Mikey’s nineteen and acts like he’s twelve… so I guess people become real adults when they’re like… forty two.”

Frank laughed. “I’m glad I have…”, he paused, calculating numbers in his head. “Twenty two more years of being a kid”. 

“Yep. Don’t let the taxes and landlords fool you, you’re gonna be a kid for a long time”.

Frank grinned, much less flustered than before. He grabbed his paintbrush and started his second coat of paint on the scorptian. He was all worried earlier for nothing. Gerard was just Gerard.

***

Later that day, when Frank had been at home for a few hours, bumming around and messing around with his guitar, he heard the land line ring. After twenty second of debating whether or not he should get up and get it, he decided to roll off the couch. It could be his mother calling from work for all he knew. He did not want to miss that call. 

“Hello”, a muffled voice from across the line greeted. “Is Frank around?”.

Frank honestly had no idea who was calling. Frank wasn’t exactly prom king and Shaun never called. They were mostly just school friends and sometimes went skating together.

“This is Frank”.

“Oh shit, great. I thought I was talking to your dad or something”, the voice said, obviously relieved. “Anyway, this is Mikey. Thanks for getting me home the other night, means a lot”.

Oh, this was Mikey. That made a lot of sense. “Oh yeah, no problem”, Frank said.

“Anyways, Pete’s staying till Wednesday and is leaving soon back to Chicago. But before he leaves we’re all getting together at Gabe’s place on Tuesday night. We’re not doing anything big, probably just watching a movie or something. No drinking, cause like Gabe and I have classes and Pete had to drive back the next day. You in?”.

Frank thought about it for two seconds before agreeing. What else did he have to do on a Tuesday night? “Sure”, he said. “Wait…”, he started as an afterthought. “How’d you get my number?”.

Frank heard Mikey laugh from across the line. “Your school has your families’ number in this fancy ass phone book. I made my brother look it up for me.”

“Damn… you’re kind of obsessed with me”, Frank grinned. Even though he was joking around and would never admit it, he felt touched that somebody would go through all that just to hangout with him. Nobody had ever done that in the past. 

“Yeah, whatever Runt. Be there by seven, Runt”, Mikey said before hanging up. Frank couldn’t even be mad at the fucker for hanging up. He was too overjoyed with the fact that he had friends. Okay, that definitely did not suck.


End file.
